Protect At All Costs
by RebelMandM
Summary: Alain has been assigned by Lysander to attend a school for Mega Evolution trainers. He is committed to winning ever battle that he faces, but what happens when there's another trainer there who's just as committed to winning for their superior? Will Alain be victorious, or will he decide to take another path? Dedicated to J. who is an Alain in the best of ways.
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone! This is your favorite piece of Confederate chocolate, here with a brand new fan fiction story!**

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir, are you sure?"

Alain stood facing his boss, Lysander, as he stroked his Pyroar's mane. "Yes Alain, I am quite sure. Going to this place will help you to grow and learn more about Mega Evolution."

"And you will not need me here?"

"I'm sure I can manage. Now go and prepare. You have a long two weeks ahead of you."

Alain suppressed a sigh. "I have completed all my preparations, sir. Would you want me to do anything else?"

Lysander took his time to answer. "No, Alain, you may go. There will be a helicopter waiting to take you on the landing pad in half an hour."

Alain nodded his consent and turned to leave.

"Alain, one more thing."

He stopped and turned back to Lysander.

"I expect you to win all of your battles. You must be the strongest."

Alain nodded again. Then he went to his room, picked up his suitcase, and turned towards the landing pad.

As he waited for the helicopter, a message popped up on his holowatch. It was from Lysander.

All it said was, "Be on your guard." He was about to respond to ask what it meant, when the helicopter arived.

"Ready to go, Bodyguard?" the pilot shouted.

Alain nodded since the pilot couldn't have heard anything he said, but in his mind he was thinking, _As ready as I'll ever be..._

This was going to be a long two weeks. A very long two weeks.


	2. Welcome!

**OK everyone, there are going to be a lot of new people introduced in this chapter, so if it gets confusing, just let me know in a review.**

Xxxxxx

Alain stepped off the helicopter and watched fly away. He had been dropped off in the Hoenn region, about ten miles north of Mawville City, outside a large square shaped building marked with a symbol of a keystone. No, large didn't do it justice; it could have competed with Mawville itself. This was the site of the first ever Mega Evolution Acadamy.

The flier he had received three months prior had explained it all. This place had been built by the Devon Corporation, with the intent of teaching young trainers who could mega evolve how to do it better, honing their skills in a way they couldn't do alone. The place was intended to be a full-time school, but this was only a seminar, created to try out the whole idea on anyone who wanted to take a shot at it.

The whole thing had been organized by Hoenn's Champion, Steven, and was being run by him and the Elite Four. There was to be everything that a trainer could ask to learn about.

This was why Lysander had sent him. To learn. To get stronger.

Alain turned away from the receding chopper and toward the building. Time to get this training started.

The front double door to the building was open wide, and just inside was a sign directing all trainers the the courtyard in the middle of the building. He followed the directions, and exiting the building on the opposite side, entered the courtyard. It was large, completely surrounded by building, and had trees planted at the corners. There were also, he noticed, white lines on the ground, probably for a battle field. He noticed something else too. The place was thriving with activity. There were at least twenty other trainers here, all of them broken up in their own groups, talking and laughing, and just making a lot of general noise. A man with a black blazer and yellow pants was making his way through the trainer's, stopping to speak with them now and then, while a lady with a blue gown, stood off to the side, just watching. And there was a blone girl making her way over to him.

"Hi, you're here for the Mega Evolution Seminar, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Great, then I need you to sign this for me please," and she held out a clipboard to him. "Just put your name, age, regionality, and the Pokemon you'll be using during the seminar."

Alain took the clipboard and began to write down his information. "Regionally?" he asked absentmindedly.

The girl sighed, and he looked up. "Don't worry, your not the only one who didn't get it. I thought someone might, but maybe not. I just meant the region you come from."

Alain stopped writing and looked at her more closely. She was tall for a girl, lacking his height by only an inch or two. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a Ponyta tail, with some shorter strands sticking out in front of her ears. She wore a red-pink collared shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to three-quarter length, with a lime green shirt pulled over it and a dark green vest that covered her upper chest. Her pants were a few shades darker the the green shirt, and had large pockets on the sides, which seemed to be full of something.

"By the way, I'm Zara."

He broke off from his train of thought as she extended a fingerless-gloved hand out to him. Unsure of what she wanted, he handed her back the clipboard. She took it back and looked it over.

"Alain? Is that how you say your name?"

He nodded.

"Well it's good to have you here, Alain. I hope you and your Charizard have a good time and do well. Now," she said turning back to the busy courtyard, "have I gotten everyone?" She began to count heads, pointing at each with her pen. When she finished, she tapped the pen on the side of her head, turned back to Alain, and frowned at her clipboard. "So I haven't missed one, their just not here. Where could they-hey, look out!"

Two seconds later someone bowled into Alain from behind, causing him to stumble forward. "Hello, hey, I'm here!" the person announced. Look over his shoulder, he saw a teenage girl in a black dress with gold trim and pink tights standing posed dramatically.

"You could watch where your going," he growled.

"So this is the Mega Evolution Acadamy? It's huge! Nothing like what I expected," she chattered on without acknowledging that Alain had spoken.

Yes, it is. You're here for the Mega Evolution Seminar?" Zara asked.

"Yeah, of course. Why else would someone come here?"

"I need you to sign in," Zara said, handing her the clipboard and pen. The girl took the clipboard, hastily scrribled her information, and handed it back. Zara looked it over then said, "Your just in time, Brittney, they were just about to start. I'm Zara, by the way."

"Yeah, charmed, so, we just wait out here?"

"That's right."

"OK, good. Come on Baynette!" she called over her shoulder, and a heavily loaded marionette Pokemon stumbled into the courtyard, dropping things left and right. Brittney waltzed over to the group of female trainers talking to the lady in the blue gown, Baynette following as quickly as possible. It dropped a small bag by Alain's feet, and didn't notice, or at least didn't pick it up.

"I'll get that back to her. I've got to get this list to the Champion. See you." And with a friendly smile, Zara scooped up the bag and headed toward the back of the courtyard, leaving Alain alone.

He shrugged off the unusual welcome, and joined the group of trainers waiting for the seminar to begin. All of them, he noted, had suitcases with them. _Wonder when we'll know where we sleep_ he thought. The trainers also seemed restless, especially the group of females of to the right, one of which was Brittney. Suddenly one of the group broke away and approached him. This one had black hair in a tight bun, red shirt and pants with black, zig-zag markings, and a choker around her neck.

"Hey there, hansome. I'm Jacklyn," she said with a flirrty smile on her face. Alain rolled his eyes inwardly.

Just then Steven Stone himself came out of one of the side doors, Zara trailing behind him. Loud whispers broke out among the trainers; and who wouldn't, Alain thought, this was Hoenn's champion, after all.

"Hello and welcome everyone, to the first ever Mega Evolution Seminar. Now I assume most of you know who I am, but for those that don't, I am Steven, the Champion of this region."

"Yeah, we know already, get on with it." Jacklyn muttered beside Alain. He turned and moved to the far side of the crowd.

"Now," Steven continued, "since it is rather late in the day, we won't do anything training related today. Supper will be served in the cafeteria when we finish here."

"Good, they are going to feed us."

Alain jumped slightly. He hadn't heard Jacklyn approach him. "Leave me alone."

"Why?" she teased, coming even closer. Alain moved away again, this time putting as many people as possible between them.

"But first Sidney and Pheobe will pass out you room keys, so you can put your belongings in your rooms. All rooms are on the third floor, and you don't need to go to the second floor. It's still under going renovation. That's all, I'll let you go now," and smiling Steven headed back the way he had come.

Almost everyone there flocked over to the man in yellow pants, obviously named Sidney, for their room keys. Alain decided to wait untill the crowd died down to ask for his key. Everyone was over with them except for a couple of boys, and Zara. And Jacklyn...who was headed right for him again.

She was only a few steps away, when she bummped into on of the boys who was standing around. She stumbled, and he nearly fell to the ground. "Watch where your going, will you please? I'm walking here," she snapped.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't see you there," he apologized hastily.

"Well then watch better," she said tersely.

"Really, Jacklyn?" a voice asked. It was Zara.

"Really what?" Jacklyn asked saucily.

"Can't you just leave people alone? It's only the first day!" Zara came over and planted herself between Jacklyn and the boy. Which also happened to between Jacklyn and Alain.

"Yes, it's you that can't seem to leave me alone."

"How do you figure that?"

"You really don't know?"

An audible sigh. "Never mind, just please go get your key."

"You don't tell me what to do. Your not worth even having a fight with. Your a fithy mess, and a fashion disaster."

"Well excuse me if being an assistant to Mr. Steven doesn't give me time to go shopping every day."

Alain raised his eyebrows in surprise at this. Zara was the Champion's assistant?

"That's beside the point." Jacklyn said hautily.

"No it's really not."

"Ugh, fine, I'm out of here," Jacklyn turned on her heel angrily and marched away, but not without casting a flirty glance Alain's way. He rolled his eyes inwardly again.

Zara turned to the boy who Jacklyn had stumbled over. "You OK, Wally?"

"I'm fine," he replied, "at least I am now. Thanks for the rescue."

"No problem, but you really need to start sticking up for yourself. I'm going to get some food, catch you-"

"Alain!"

It was Steven. He approached Alain with his usual confident stride, and a pleased look on his face. "Glad you could make it! I was worried you would be busy battling someone else," and he smiled at his words.

"No, Lysander decided it would be best for me to train here."

"Alright, well I'm glad he did." Steven glanced around, then continued. "Have you met anyone new yet?"

"Not really." _No one worth mentioning..._

"Well maybe I can help with that," and turning away he called out, "Hey, Zara!"

Zara's head shot up from where she was talking to the boy named Wally. She came running over as quickly as she could. "You called, Champion?"

"Now Zara, haven't I told you to call me Steven?"

"I do call you Steven, just not in public."

Steven smiled tiredly. "Well, I would like you to meet an acquaintance of mine. This is Alain. Alain, this is my assistant and pupil, Zara."

"We've already met, I signed him in."

"Zara, you signed everyone in."

Zara sighed and looked at the ground, then back up at Alain. "Hello, I'm Zara. I'm five foot ten, and I don't have any siblings, I live in Fourtree City, and have climbed two mountains. I like pizza, music, and battling with my Pokemon." Turning to Steven, she added, "Was that good enough?"

"Yes, except you left out climbing trees." Zara smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, I'll take my leave of you two, I had things to attend to for tomorrow. Again, glad you could make it Alain, and here is your room key."

Alain accepted the key, and nodded respectfully at Steven as he left. Then turning his attention to Zara, he studied her again in silence. Several minutes passed before she asked, "So you know the Champion?"

"Yes, we met a few months ago, and I challenged him to a battle."

"You did? Who won?"

"We never got to finish it. Someone I know interrupted us."

"Oh."

Another few moments of silence. Then Alain asked, "So your the Champion's assistant?"

"Yeah, have been for the past two years. He was actually the one who gave me my megastone and keystone." And she raised her left arm to show off the mega bracelet on her wrist.

It was the first time Alain had noticed her keystone. It was actually held in a ring very similar to his own, save it was white not black.

"Yeah, he gave it to be when I was still on my journey. I think we actually saw the Pokemon Latias and Latios not long before that."

A whistle sounded.

"Hey if we want to get anything to eat, we'd better move. That whistle means the meal is ending!" Zara cried, then made a dash for the door.

Alain followed, though not as quickly. He wasn't all that hungry, he'd eaten right before he'd left the Kalos region. He needed a minute to think. Zara was certainly a different person than he'd ever met before. Reminded him of Mairan.

He finally decided just to skip supper and go to his room. His key read twenty-five, but finding the room took longer than he intended. When he did find it, he went strait in shut the door firmly behind him, and threw his suitcase on the nearer bed of the two in the room. The room was simple, just two beds, a desk, a bathroom, and three lamps. Two beds; so he probably had a roommate. But who it was wasn't very important to him at the moment. He took a shower, hoping to clear his mind of the doubts he had about coming here and leaving Lysander behind.

When he finished, his roommate had arrived, and was unpacking. He was tall, around Alain's own height, with well combed, jet black hair, a football player's build, and crystal blue eyes. "Hey, you must be my roommate. I'm Gordon, five time champ of the P1 championship in the Kanto region. Oh, I've got pictures!"

"I'll take your word for it," Alain stopped him.

"Well, then I'm gonna take a shower." Gordon said lamely. He grabbed some clothes and went in the bathroom, leaving his suitcase open in his haste.

Alain closed the suitcase, partly thinking it was what Marian would do, partly because he didn't want to see what all it contained. Then he lay down on his bed and turned off the lamps that Gordon had apparently turned on.

He was almost asleep when the bathroom door opened. Gordon came out, there was some shuffling, and then quiet. Alain turned over to get more comfortable. Why did he need to come here at all? What was Lysander's goal? And why was he supposed to be on his guard? Was someone here a threat to him? These and hundreds of other questions swirled through his mind for some time, preventing sleep from taking him.

Finnaly he yawned and was just about to black out when there was a loud, _zzzzzzz._

Great, his roommate snored.


	3. At An Advantage

Day 2: At an advantage

Alain rubbed his head for the third time that morning. He had slept very little last night, due to Gordon snoring like thunder the whole time. Plus, he he'd been dragged to the girl's table in the cafeteria this morning by a very insistent Jacklyn.

When he had woken up this morning at five A.M., Gordon had still been asleep. He'd dressed and gone down to the cafeteria, only to find he was an hour early for breakfast, and couldn't stay there untill it started. Thus, lacking anything else to do, he had wandered the halls for an hour, thinking about Marian and that he missed her, about his upcoming battles, about anything at all. He went completely around the building four times before six o'clock came. Turned out it he wasn't the only one waiting for breakfast. Ten other people were waiting outside the cafeteria when he came around the fourth time. He had decided just to hang back and let them go in and settle before he followed.

Biggest mistake of his life.

Jacklyn had come around the corner at six on the dot. She had walked over to him and had an arm around his before he could even register what happened. "Hey there, I was hoping to bump into you this morning. You can sit with me." Thus she nearly dragged him through the breakfast line and to the table they were seated at right now. If that wasn't bad enough, Jacklyn had invited several other girls to sit with her at the table, and was holding a conversation with them about clothes and jewelry and such, none of which he cared about at all. And to top it all off, she was practically leaning against him.

Alain rubbed his head again.

"Hey, Jacklyn, how's it going?" It was Brittney. Just what he needed.

"Going good, how did you sleep?"

"Fine, I guess, my roommate keep tossing and turning and leaving the windows open."

"Oh really? Who's your roommate?"

"She's-"

"Good morning, everyone." Another girl walked up and dropped her tray on the table. Alain glanced over at her, then did a double take. He knew this girl! Apparently she knew him too, because the next words out of her mouth were, "I remember you! I battled your Mega Charizard! Your name is, hold on, Alain? Yes that was it."

"That's right," he returned, "and you said your name was Astrid."

"So what are you doing here?"

Alain looked at her skeptically. "I'm here for the Mega Evolution Seminar, same as everybody else. Isn't that why your here?"

"That really wasn't what I meant," and she smiled deviously, "I meant, why are you at the girl's table? You didn't really strike me as a ladies man."

Alain felt his face heat up slightly. "I invited him over here, and he nicely accepted," Jacklyn broke in. "Isn't he so nice?"

"Sure is," Brittney answered. Astrid didn't answer, just kept that devious smile on her face. Brittney kept talking without noticing this. "Jacklyn, how do you always get people to like you so easily?"

"It's a gift," she answered simply. Alain covered his face with one hand and groaned. Could this morning possibly get any worse?

"So," Astrid began, "are you two dating or something?"

Alain growled to himself, got up, and left taking his tray with him. As he left he heard Jacklyn say, "Don't worry about him, he'll come around. They always do." He rolled his eyes. He would never, ever let Jacklyn do that again. Never.

He chose another seat on the far side of the room to eat. Trying to block out everything and everyone was at least easier over here without anyone leaning on him as if he was their only means of support. He managed to finish his meal in peace, and as he did, Steven walked in, flanked by Zara.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome to day one of the Mega Evolution Seminar. If everyone is about done with breakfast, we'd like to move out to the courtyard."

Outside, the battle field was being leveled. "So," Steven kept taking as he walked, "we are going to have several preliminary battles before we begin the competition. These battles don't count toward the competition, they are just to help us see what your strengths and weaknesses are. You will all fight in two battles, one today, and one tomorrow. One battle will be at an advantage, the other at a disadvantage. Now we have tried to make these matchups as close to advantage or disadvantage as possible, but everyone must battle twice, so some of the battles may not be as clear cut as others. We will hand out numbers this morning so you can see when you'll battle. That's all."

"So now we get to battle," Alain said to himself.

A tall man with white hair and a black seaman's jacket stepped up beside Steven. "I'll be handing out the numbers. Don't anyone lose theirs, we don't have any replacements." Several people shiffted nervously. "So what are you waiting for? We don't have all day!" the man burst out. Alain saw, out of the corner of his eye, Zara face palming.

Everyone filed through and received a number. "Looks like our battle field is ready," Steven observed, "so let's get started. Which two people have a number one?"

Two girls stepped forward. One was rather short, had cropped brown hair, green pants, a lavender shirt, and a sweeping white vest that hung open in the front and went down past her knees. "I'm Yvette," she said. The other was taller and stockier, with dusty jeans, brown boots, an unbuttoned plaid shirt with a white tank underneath, and a brown cowboy's hat. "I'm Maxine," was her comment.

Steven turned and nodded to someone behind him. To Alain's surprise, Sidney stepped out of the shadow of a tree at the back of the courtyard. "Alright, everyone who's not battling, either leave, or head to the outer edge of the yard. You two may take your positions. I'll be the judge for this match."

Everyone moved to the edges of the courtyard, and Yvette and Maxine took their places. Alain noted that one trainer position was marked in blue paint, the other in red. "For these matches, the trainer said to have the advantage with stand in the red box, and the trainer said to have the disadvantage will stand in the blue box," Sidney explained. "Both sides will use one Pokemon each. The side with the advantage will send out their Pokemon first. Both sides must Mega Evolve at some point during the battle. The battle will be over when either side is no longer able to battle. Understood?"

A "Got it," from Maxine in the red box

A "I understand," from Yvette in the blue box.

"Then battle begin!"

"Go Steelix!" Maxine threw her pokeball hard into the middle of the field, and the Iron Snake Pokemon hit the ground with a cry of its name.

"All right Gardevior, let's do this!" And Yvette tossed her pokeball into the air, releasing the Embrace Pokemon in a flash of light.

"Do you mind if I stand here?" The question snapped Alain back to reality. In a shot of panic, he whirled to face who he thought was Jacklyn, but instead found himself face to face with Zara. "I can go somewhere where else if you want," she said, clearly alarmed at his reaction.

"No, you're fine," he replied.

"So, first thing we get to see a Mega Steelix. How cool is that?"

Alain just shrugged.

"Wonder what moves it knows? Probably all physical moves, or mostly physical at least."

"You act like you could care less about Mega Gardevior." he said.

"Well, I've actually seen several Mega Gardevior before, so it's really nothing new. It should be fairly easy for the Mega Gardevior to take on a Mega Steelix, since it is so powerful."

"We'll see," was all he said.

"Steelix, start this off strong! Iron tail!" Maxine shouted.

"Dodge it Gardevior, then use Psychic!"

Gardevior dodged, then lifted Steelix into the air, and let it drop heavily on the ground, resulting in a small amount of damage to it.

"Enough small talk, let's show them your real power," and Yvette pulled a necklace out from beneath her shirt set with a shimmering keystone. "Gardevior, Mega Evolve!"

Gardevior's Mega stone around its neck shown and releaced blue bands of light, which connected with the gold bands from Yvette's keystone. They colided and in a blast of energy, Gardevior mega evolved.

"Well, we'll follow suite. Steelix, Mega Evolve!" And Maxine touched her keystone on the brim of her large hat. Steelix's stone and her keystone reacted, and Steelix Mega Evolved. "Now use Iron tail!"

"Use Psychic."

Gardevior raised Steelix once again, and dropped it, but this time Maxine was ready. "Steelix, use Dig!" As Steelix fell to the ground, it repositioned itself, and dug into the ground.

"That's going to be hard to dodge," Zara commented.

"Gardevior use Double team."

"Or not," Zara said.

Steelix burst out of the ground, and hit one of the Gardevior, and...all the copies disappeared.

"Impressive," Zara said absentmindedly.

"Lucky hit," Alain countered.

"Are you always this negative?"

Alain shrugged again.

"Now Steelix, use Iron tail!"

"Dodge, Gardevior!" But the Embrace Pokémon just wasn't fast enough. The attack hit it squarely on the head. "Gardevior, no!"

"Steelix, Iron tail once more, finish this!"

"Gardevior, double team!" The iron tail came down on a copy, but it was the wrong one. Stellix was surrounded by Gardevior.

"Now Gardevior, use Hyper voice!" The Hyper voice made contact, and Steelix doubled over from the damage.

"That did a lot of damage," Alain said curiously.

"It's Mega Gardevior's Ability, Pixilate. Any normal type moves it knows are turned into fairy type moves, and their power is increased." Zara explained.

"How do you know that?"

"Like I said, this isn't the first Mega Gardevior I've seen."

"Hyper voice, one more time!"

"Dig!" The dig attack burst through and struck Gardevior, "now Iron tail!"

"Double team!"

"Use Aqua tail, and spin all the way around!" Maxine commanded. All the copies were wiped out and the real one buckled under Steelix's tail. "Now iron tail!"

"Dodge!" Yvette yelled in a panic. But it was too late. The Iron tail made contact, and Gardevior was thrown against the back wall. It hit the ground, fainted, and in a flash reverted to its normal form. "Gardevior! Oh, no!"

"Gardevior is unable to battle, so Steelix wins. Therefore the victory goes to Maxine!" Sidney declared.

Yvette recaled her fainted Pokemon, and whispered something Alain couldn't hear, probably praise for how well it had battled. Maxine recalled Steelix as well.

Sidney spoke up, "After we relevel the battle field, we'll have the second battle. Who's got a number two on their card?"

Zara raised her hand and stepped out of the crowd. A boy from across the courtyard stepped out as well. "I'm Zara."

"I'm Alex," he returned.

"Well good luck, Alex. May the best trainer win," Zara said as she walked out toward the field. She took her position in the red box. Alex faced her in the blue box.

"You both heard the rules already, so no need to repeat them," Sidney said. "Are you both ready?"

An, "I'm ready," from Alex in the blue box.

A "Ready," from Zara in the red box.

"Then battle begin!" Sidney shouted.

Zara immediately threw her pokeball with a shout of, "Sceptile, at the ready!" Sceptile gave a tremendous cry as it hit the ground.

"Go Swampert!" Alex yelled, and his large blue Pokemon landed on the battle field.

"Alright, Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" And Zara touched her keystone in her Mega Bracelet. It reacted with Sceptile's Mega stone, and Sceptile mega evolved. Alain suddenly realized how much Zara looked like her partner. Her clothes were the same color as Sceptile's skin, the green vest matched the leaves on her Pokemon's chest, and her hair that had five ponyta tail holders in it, all with colored beads on them, the first three yellow the fourth orange, the last red, just like the balls on her Pokemon's back. Even her eyes matched, being a golden hazel color.

"Swampert, Mega Evolve!" Alex shouted, and his Pokemon's mega stone reacted and Swampert mega evolved.

"Since we have the advantage here, we'll let you go first," Zara offered.

"OK Swampert, use Hammer arm!"

The mud fish Pokémon raced toward its opponent, it's arms glowing with energy. Zara didn't even bat an eyelash as it approached. Then at the last second, she commanded, "Dodge and use Leaf blade!"

Alain watched in interest as Sceptile dodged smoothly and sliced a Leaf blade attack up Swampert's side. Sceptile was normally a very fast Pokemon, but this was something else. Clearly her Pokemon had been raised well.

"Your Sceptile is fast! Impressive, but it'll take more than that to knock us out. Now use Muddy water!"

"Dragon pulse!" The two attacks colided and fought for dominance, but Dragon pulse won out, and Swampert was thrown back against the wall by its power.

"Now leaf blade," Zara commanded.

Sceptile closed in, but Alex wasn't giving up that easily. "Use Ice punch!"

Zara stiffened in what Alain thought was shock. She had no time to react, and the Ice punch hit Sceptile in a direct hit, knocking it back across the field. "Your Swampert is strong," she commented.

"Great job, Swampert!" Alex praised. "Now, Ice punch again!"

"Intercept with Leaf blade!" Zara shouted. The attacks colided, and the two Pokemon fell back, evenly matched. "Now Dragon pulse!"

"Dodge, Swampert!" Swampert moved but not fast enough, and the Dragon pulse threw it into the air. It fell to the ground and reverted to its normal form. "Swampert!" Alex ran onto the field and knelt beside his fainted Pokémon.

"Swampert is unable to battle, so Sceptile is the winner. Therefore the victory goes to Zara!" Sidney announced.

"Great job, Sceptile." Zara walked out to her Pokemon and rubbed it on the nose. In return it thumped her on the head affectionately. "Hey, cut that out! Sceptile, return."

Alain was impressed with her performance, though he tried not to show it as she walked back over to her place beside him. She had knocked out her opponent very quickly, even with the large advantage she'd had. This was one trainer he needed to pay more attention to. She would be a strong opponent if he had to face her later on. However, he said none of this out loud as she stood next to him. Instead he said, "So, Mega Sceptile?"

"Yeah, he's my strongest Pokemon. Also my first Pokemon."

"You fought well."

"Thanks, but we were at a big advantage. Our victory was just taking advantage of the situation."

 _Sure was. But she could at least take the credit for it._ Alain thought.

The day went on, and several more battles took place. Jacklyn battled a trainer named Eric with a Mega Abamasnow and won. Brittney had fought the boy Jacklyn had bumped into earlier, named Wally who had a Mega Gallade, and had won. Wally had come over to Zara afterward very depressed, and she had cheered him up. It made Alain think of Marain. A Mega Salamance had faced Gordon, who owned a Mega Glalie, and had lost. Astrid had faced a Mega Hectogross and lost. He'd even seen the boy with the Mega Venasaur he'd faced a while back in there somewhere. Several other battles were fought, but Alain couldn't remember them all.

Finally it was his turn.

He was the in the last pair of the day to battle, he found out, and his battle took place late, as the sun was setting. Steven had taken Sidney's place as the judge half way through, and now he was judging Alain's battle, against a girl named Penny. Most of the trainers had cleared the courtyard to go have supper, but Zara, Wally, and Jacklyn still watched from the sidelines.

"You both understand the rules, I suppose?" Steven asked.

An "Of course," from Penny across the field in the blue box.

"I understand," Alain said.

"Then battle begin!" Steven said.

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain released the Flame Pokemon, and it landed with an energetic cry.

"Lopunny, take the stage!"

"Lopunny?!" Alain exclaimed.

The large brown and white Pokemon landed on the field with a graceful flourish. It wore a Mega Stone around one ear in a silver band of metal.

"That's not a disadvantage!" Jacklyn shouted from the side lines. "This is outrageous! I demand a redo!"

Steven glanced at Alain. After supressing yet another eyeroll, Alain said "We'll still win this. Charizard, Mega Evolve!" He touched his keystone, and Charizard Mega Evolved.

"You can try, but your not going to win. Lopunny, Mega Evolve!" Penny cried. The Rabbit Pokemon Mega Evolved and gave an energetic kick. "Start things off with High jump kick!"

Alain just let Lopunny hit his Pokemon. He wanted to see how much damage it would do. When it connected, Penny immediately ordered another High jump kick.

"Dodge!" Alain commanded. Charizard dodged the high jump kick by flying above it, letting Lopunny take the crash damage. "Now Thunder punch!"

"Lopunny, intercept with Dizzy punch!" The attacks collided, and the two Pokemon fought for control, but Charizard won out in the end, sending Lopunny spinning across the ground.

"Flamethrower!"

"Use Ice beam!" Both attacks connected and damaged their marks. But Lopunny was still down on the ground, trying to get up. Or so he thought.

"Use Dragon Claw!"

"Use Bounce!" Charizard was knocked of it's path by the Bounce attack hitting it's wing, and it fell to a crash landing on the field below.

"Alright, Charizard, use Blast burn!" Lopunny had already landed from it's Bounce, and had no time to go anywhere. The blast burn knocked it out, and it reverted to its normal form.

"Lopunny is unable to battle, so Charizard wins. Therefore the victory goes to Alain!" Steven declared.

Penny quickly recalled her partner and ran off. Alain walked out to Charizard and stroked it on the head. "You did very well, thank you. Charizard return!" He turned to leave the courtyard and finally go get something to eat, but someone had other plans for him.

"Alain! Oh, Alain, that was marvelous, just marvelous! How did you do it?" Jacklyn shouted. She crossed the field and once again had him by the arm before he could even register what had happened. "You won even without the disadvantage they said you would have! You are just marvelous! Come on now, how about we-"

"Alain!" This was Zara. "That was great!"

"Sure was!" Wally pipped up.

"Why don't you just run along, Clumsy. Can't you see we're talking here?" Jacklyn said spitfully, addressing Wally.

Wally backed off and looked ready to run for it, but Zara didn't scare so easily.

"What do you mean calling him Clumsy? In case you don't remember, you bumped into him." She said evenly.

"Like I said yesterday, your not worth having an argument with. I'm going to eat, are you coming Alain?"

Alain just gave her a glare.

"Well, feel free to come whenever you want. I'll save you a chair!" And she left with a cheery wave.

"She's so mean." Wally said. "Thanks again Zara, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"She was getting on my nerves." Zara replied. "Well, we should probably go eat too." Turning to Alain, she asked, "Want to come sit with us?"

"Alright."

They filed through the line and chose a table to themselves. "So Wally how was your first day of Mega Evolution training?" Zara asked after taking a bite of hamburger.

"Fine I guess. I lost the first battle I was in, so that wasn't great."

"Don't feel bad, after all, none of this counts toward the competition, and you were at a big disadvantage."

"So?"

"So, you couldn't use two of your Gallade's moves, plus the ones you could use weren't very effective on that Mega Baynette. And to tell you the truth, Brittney just had luck on her side today."

"I don't think I'm ever going to be strong enough to give you that rematch I wanted."

"I'm guessing you two know each other well," Alain interjected.

"You bet we do!" Wally exclaimed. "Zara was the one who caught me my first Pokemon, a Ralts."

Zara smiled thoughtfully. "That was a while back, wasn't it? Back when Sceptile was still a Grovile. And we've been friends ever since, haven't we?"

"Sure have. Even though you've helped me a lot on my journey, you really are a lot stronger Zara."

"I don't know about a lot stronger, but maybe a little bit."

"Don't try and spare my feelings, I k-know it's true! Even my dad said so!"

"Who is your dad?" Alain interjected again.

"He's businessman from Petalburg City. He's a great dad, but he can be a little overprotective at times. But I still love him."

"And what about your family, Zara?" Alain asked

"Not really much to tell, except they're from Fourtree City, or they were," she said shortly. After a moment of Wally still staring at her waiting for a better answer, she said, "I'm going to get seconds. Anyone else? No?" And she got up and went back to the supper line.

"She n-never answers that question," Wally said disappointedly.

"Why not?"

"I have no idea. Everytime I ask her, though, she clamperls up like that, and won't tell me anything else. Zara's the best friend I have, but she never v tells me anything about her family. Sometimes I think she must be ashamed of them or something like that. But, I can't complain. She different than all the rest of the people here."

"Different how?"

"For starters, she treats me like a normal person and not a little kid. I am twelve afterall, and sometimes my parents still treat me like a kid. But Zara treats me like an equal. She's nice. Sometimes I worry about her though. She's always doing something that even I don't think is safe. Like climbing trees all the way to the top branches. Sometimes I think she'd rather live in a tree than on the ground. Or climbing on the roof of this place. She did that last night. But, everyone is weird in one way or another, I suppose."

"Why are you telling me all this? Won't she mind?" Alain asked.

"You're her friend, aren't you?"

"... Not exactly."

"Oh," Wally said bluntly. "W-Well, she's sticking around you, so I guess she doesn't dislike you. Wait, that c-came out wrong. Anyway, I was g-going to say that any friend of Zara's is a friend of mine."

"Thanks, I think."

"So, what's your home like?"

"And I'm back," Zara said and set her tray down on the table. "What did I miss?"

"Alain was just about to tell me what his home is like."

"Not very interesting." Alain said. When Wally gave him a disappointed look that reminded him so much of Marian, he added, "I used to work as the Professor's assistant in the Kalos region."

"Really? Did you like it?" Zara asked.

They talked for a long time, untill Wally yawned, and they decided to call it a night. Alain went to his room, showered, and when he got out Gordon was in his bed, snoring his head off again. _I'm never going to get any sleep_ he thought. He lay in bed for a while, but Gordon's snoring was too loud, and kept him awake. He finally got up and opened the window, thinking the fresh air might help him.

A moment after he had opened the window, he heard someone singing. But not from three stories below, from above his head. _Who would be on the roof?_ he wondered, but then he remembered what Wally had said at supper:

 _"I saw her climbing on the roof of this place last night."_

"Zara?" he called out.

Nothing.

Then, suddenly, a head came over the edge of the roof. "I thought that was you. How did you know it was me?"

"Wally said you were on the roof before," he said surprised.

Silence fell for several moments. Then she asked, " Do you want to come up?"

"How did you even get up there?" he asked in bewilderment.

Another moment of silence. "The fire escape?" She said, clearly embarrassed. "So are you coming up or not?"

A minute later he stood beside her on the roof gazing at the beautiful view it provided of the Hoenn region.

"This is the best view Hoenn has to offer," Zara said, "unless you want to climb Mt. Chiminey. Then you can see all the way to Mossdeep."

"Do you come up here often?" Alain asked.

"Everyday. This is the only place that I can relax and let Sceptile out without worrying about people bothering me."

"Sceptile!" Said Pokemon came closer to its trainer, and rubbed it's head against her.

"Char," Alain's Charizard growled low in its throat. The two Pokemon had been at odds with each other since they'd been let out of their pokeballs.

Zara say down on the roof with Sceptile behind her, her leaning against her Pokemon. Alain sat down with Charizard behind him.

"So I'm not bothering you?" Alain asked.

"No, I don't mind. You can come up here whenever you want. Most people don't want to come up, they're afraid of falling." After a moment she added, "You were really good today. In your battle, I mean."

"Thanks, were honored by your words of praise," he answered, scratching Charzard's neck.

"Your Charizard is really strong."

"So is your Sceptile."

"Thanks, but you might not be saying that tomorrow when we face our disadvantage battle." After a pause, she went on, "You have many friends at home in the Kalos region?"

Alain suppressed a sigh. "One."

"Yeah, same here really."

Alain shrugged. Silence fell for several minutes. Zara stared out at the forest. Finally, she broke the silence. "I probably need to get to bed. I'll see you tomorrow. Sceptile return."

She turned and was about to jump over the edge of the roof to the fire escape below, but stopped herself, and turning back to him said, "Maybe the Champion was right about you."

"What do you mean?"

"He said he thought you would be a good friend for me to make, since he knows I don't have many. 'Night." And with that, she jumped over the edge of the roof.

Alain stared at the spot she'd been standing in for a long time thinking about what she had said. He eventually went back down the fire escape and to his room. Gordon was still snoring when he got there, but somehow it didn't bother him as much. He fell asleep soon after he laid down.

Xxxxxx

 **Sorry for the long update on this, but I hope it was worth the wait.**


	4. What a Disadvantage

Day 3: What a Disadvantage

Bright and early the next morning, Alain was standing in front of the cafeteria doors, waiting for them to open. He had decided that if he got here early and got in and through the line quickly, Jacklyn would have no time to find him and drag him in like she had yesterday.

Unfortunately for him, she was the second one to arrive at the door.

"Hello, and good morning," she greeted, "I was hoping to introduce you to a few of my friends today."

Alain just grunted and turned away.

"And here they come."

Astrid, Brittney, Yvette and several other girls rounded the corner, all talking and laughing. Jacklyn waved to them. Just then, the cafeteria doors opened.

"Good, everything works out perfectly. Hello, everyone, I'm sure your ready for today's battles."

Several of them nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's go eat!" Brittney said, and pushed past some of the other girls, but not Jacklyn. Jacklyn stuck her arm out and stopped her with a glare, then waltzed into the cafeteria, pulling Alain with her. He tried to pull away, but she refused to let go, holding on with a Cloyster tight grip.

"So, you'll never guess what I overheard last night!" Brittney blurted as soon as she sat down. "There's a swimming pool here!" she squealed.

Alain fought the urge to cover his ears. She was _loud._

"Really?" Jacklyn said. Then she gasped, "We should have a pool party!"

"Does it occur to you that the pool is probably for training purposes only?" Astrid asked sceptically.

"Does it occur to you," another girl named Tracy, who had dyed bleached blonde hair and violet eyes, and fought with a Mega Beedrill, said, "that we could just ask someone to let us use it?"

"You brought a bathing suit, didn't you all?" Britteny asked. Several of the girls nodded vigorously. "Well, let's have a pool party!"

Alain rolled his eyes inwardly. He would not be attending this party if he could help it, even if that meant locking himself in his room.

"May I have you're attention please!" It was Phoebe. "We are ready to begin today's battles. Can I have the two people who are first out on the battle field please!"

Alain breathed a sigh of relief. He was the first one to go this morning, so he could leave this table without having to fight Jacklyn to get her to release his arm. He shoveled a few more bites of pancakes into his mouth and hurried out to the field. Once out their, he saw his opponent was already standing in the red box, fingering her pokeball. She was rather short, had pink hair, baby blue eyes, and wore a blue dress with white tights. Her hair was done up in a bun, and had a long blue ribbon tied around it.

"Alright, you both heard the rules yesterday, but do you need me to repeat them?"

Alain shook his head, and so did his opponent.

"Then are you ready?"

"Yes," Alain said.

"I'm ready," the girl said, "and just so you know, my name is Abby. What's yours?"

"Alain."

"Then battle begin!" Pheobe said.

"Go Altaria!" Abby shouted and threw the pokeball she held high into the air. The Humming Pokemon burst out and soared up above her trainer.

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted, and Charizard landed on the field before him. "Use Dragon Claw!" Charizard took off into the sky, zipping toward Altaria.

"Altaria, dodge it!" Altaria dodged and flew around Charizard in a couple of loops, then broke away, facing Charizard.

"Use Dragon breath!"

"Intercept with Flamethrower!" The attacks colided and exploded. "Now, fly into the smoke and use Dragon Claw!"

Charizard charged into the clearing smoke, and burst through the other side, landing a direct hit on Altaria with its Dragon Claw. Altaria swopped low, but avoided hitting the ground, coming back up to stop above its trainer.

"Altaria, let's show them what you can really do," and she touched the Key Stone in the ribbon that hung down her back, "Mega Evolve!" Her Key Stone reacted with Altaria's Mega Stone, and Altaria Mega Evolved.

"Key Stone, respond to my heart. Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" Charizard's Mega Stone reacted with Alain's Key Stone, and Charizard Mega Evolved.

"Now use Dragon Claw!" Charizard zoomed across the battle field, straight at Altaria's, it's claws glowing green.

"Altaria, don't move," Abby ordered. Alain straightened in surprise. Wouldn't that be just letting a super effective hit connect?

Charizard closed in and swiped at Altaria's with its Claw, but it couldn't seem to make contact. Every swipe just seemed to glance off Altaria's as if an invisible shield was protecting it.

"What? How is that happening?" Alain wondered aloud. Abby wasn't saying; she just stood their with a pleased look on her face.

"Use Dragon Breath!" she ordered. Charizard had no chance to dodge, and took the attack full in the chest.

 _Why won't Charizard's Dragon Claw attack work? Does Mega Altaria's ability prevent it from connecting?_ Alain thought frantically.

"Alain!"

Alain tore his eyes away from the battle and looked around the courtyard. Zara stood at the edge of the yard, waving her hands wildly. "When Altaria Mega Evolves, it becomes a Fairy type!"

"You didn't know that?" Abby asked. "Well, too bad, I thought everyone knew that. Altaria, use Moonblast!"

"Dodge Charizard!" But Charizard couldn't dodge fast enough, and took the Moonblast attack, the blast pushing it back across the field to Alain.

"Charizard, no!" Well, now that he knew Dragon Claw wouldn't work, he'd have to use a different move. "Charizard," he cried, and the Flame Pokemon stood up with effort, "Flamethrower, go!"

"Intercept with Dragon breath!" The attacks met in the middle of the field, but Charizard's Flamethrower won out and Altaria was knocked backward from the force of the blast.

"Use Sing," Abby commanded.

An all too familiar tune floated across the battle field, and Charizard wobbled before sinking down to the field and falling asleep.

"Charizard, wake up!" Alain shouted at his Pokemon, but Charizard only snored in response.

"Now use Moonblast!"

Alain watched helplessly as the attack hit Charizard full on. "Charizard, you have to get up!"

"Use Dragon breath!"

Again, there was nothing Alain could no to stop the attack from connecting. "Charizard!" he cried loudly.

Suddenly, Charizard stirred and then its head came up. "Charizard!" Alain shouted, seeing hope for a victory again. "Get Altaria, Thunder punch!"

Charizard roared, then shot into the air, its claw now crackling with electricity.

"Altaria, use Mirror move!" Abby shouted, and her Pokemon also shot into the air, its wing crackling with electricity as well. The two Pokemon met in the sky, but as Altaria lunged to hit Charizard, Charizard dodged to the left, and struck Altaria with its Thunder punch. The Humming Pokemon let out a loud cry and fell, narrowly missing the ground.

"Sing!" Abby called to her Pokemon.

"Don't give them a chance! Blast burn!" Alain shouted.

Altaria's song began to drift across the field, but Charizard wasn't hearing it. It went into a dive, then called the energy to use the move, and landed with its fist hitting the ground. The Blast burn attack closed in on Altaria, and then exploded underneath it, leaving a huge cloud of smoke hanging over the field. Alain couldn't see anything.

After a tense moment or two, the smoke cleared. Altaria's was laying on the ground, knocked out, and had reverted back to its normal state.

"Altaria is unable to battle," Phoebe announced, "so Charizard wins! Therefore the victory goes to Alain!"

Abby stood stock still, a look of pure shock on her face, and her mouth hanging open. When she recovered her voice, she stuttered, "H-how, how did you-"

Alain walked onto the field and stood next to Charizard. "Just because we couldn't land a Dragon type move, doesn't mean we couldn't do damage."

"Well if you can win at that disadvantage, I'd hate to face you in the competition!" Abby said with an expression of respect on her face.

"Thanks," he said, then turned to Charizard, rubbed its head and neck, then returned it to its pokeball.

"No I mean it! You're really strong!"

"Like I said, thanks."

Abby just shrugged, recalled Altaria, and walked out of the courtyard toward the Pokemon Center at the back of the school. Alain just stood their for a moment lost in thoughts of Lysander, and his promise to win every battle.

"Hello?"

Phoebe's voice snapped him from his thoughts. Looking up, he heard her continue, "You'll have to leave, we've got more battles to get to."

He turned away and closed his eyes. "Right, I'm going." He glanced over at the sidelines as he left, but the person he was looking for, Zara, wasn't there.

"Well, looks like it's my turn. Who's going to fall in defeat this time?" A confident Jacklyn strode out into the courtyard, and took her place in the blue box. The boy who owned the Salamance from yesterday came out a different door and stood in the red box.

"Do you both remember the rules?" Phoebe asked.

"Of course!" Jacklyn said.

The other boy nodded.

"Then battle begin!"

"I case you don't remember me, I'm Jacklyn, and I'm going to win, so you may as well give up now." Jacklyn said with a dramatic bow. "Go Blaziken!"

"I'm Dave, and I won't let you win that easily. Go Salamance!" Dave shouted.

The battle raged for several minutes. Jacklyn held her own for a long time, but in the end, Dave won out by commanding his Mega Salamance to use Hyper beam. Jacklyn threw a fit after she lost, and Alain left as soon as this started. Having nothing better to do, he wandered around the halls for a few minutes. Then, as he rounded a corner, Wally ran into him.

"O-oh! S-sorry, I d-didn't see you." Wally stuttered.

"It's fine," Alain said.

"I've g-got to get to the battle field. I'm l-late for m-my battle!" he exclaimed, then ran off down the hall as fast as he could.

"Do you know where Zara is?" Alain called after him. He figured seeing what she was up to would be better than wandering the halls. He might learn something about her battle strategies.

"Outside! U-unloading boxes!" Wally shouted back.

 _Unloading boxes?_ Alain wondered. He turned around and headed to the front door, but Zara wasn't there. Thinking Wally must have know where Zara was if he knew she was unloading boxes, whatever that meant, he kept going, looking for another door she could have gone out.

He found said door in the back of the school. Outside was a large delivery truck, and Zara was standing behind it, hefting a crate off the back.

"Hey!" she said when she turned around and saw him, "What are you doing out here?"

"Wally said you were out here," he answered.

"So you came to find me?"

"No. I just had nothing better to do. What are you doing?"

"An extremely annoying job."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Zara began, "the Champion asked me to move all the boxes in this truck into the storage room just through that door," and she pointed to the door Alain had just come through, "and so I agreed, started moving crates. But when I asked what was in them, the Champion just said they were for tomorrow's classes, and since I'm a student, I can't know since it would give me an unfair advantage in the classes." She took the box inside, then came back out. "If your not busy, I could use some help with these."

Alain said nothing but grabbed a crate and followed Zara inside. The storage room she was stacking these crates in was about the size of two bedrooms from upstairs, and was already half full of crates, cardboard boxes, trash bags, and other things that he couldn't identify. Zara set her crate down in a corner and Alain set his on top of hers. When he went back out, Zara was shaking a small crate. "I need to know what's in these," she muttered to herself. She shook the crate harder, but it didn't make a sound. "Oh well, I guess I'll find our tomorrow." She turned and took the crate inside. Alain grabbed another crate. It felt fairly light. He knocked on the side. It didn't sound hollow at all.

Zara came back out and jumped into the truck. She went to the back and started pushing crates to the back of the truck. Alain took his crate into the storage room, and took a moment to look around. What was in these boxes? Even he was at least a little curious.

When he went back outside, he heard her before he saw her. She was inside the truck, at the very back, pushing a large crate toward the back of the truck. It must have been heavy, because she was struggling to move it.

Zara jumped down from the truck, having succeeded at her task, and asked Alain, "I'm pretty sure this one is too heavy for me. Could you grab the other side?"

"Sure." Alain grabbed one side of the box, and he and Zara slid it off the end of the truck...and dropped it.

"OK," Zara said after a moment, "that one may be too heavy for both of us."

"No, it isn't." Alain said, then reached down to pick up his side of the box again. Zara reached down to pick up her side as well. "OK, on the count of three. One, two, three!" Zara counted.

They lifted, and the crate came up. Zara turned to go inside backward, and they, after a lot of effort, managed to get the crate in and settled in a corner of the storage room.

"Phew! Thanks for the help with that one. Not sure how the Champion expected me to get this thing in here by myself."

"Not a problem," Alain leaned forward to look at something beside him, just as Zara tried to push past him.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, looking up at him, her cheeks havin turned a pale pink. Alain suddenly realized how close they were, and he quickly backed up, his face flushing slightly.

"Zara, Zara!" Thankfully, at that moment, Wally burst into the room. "Guess what!"

Zara quickly stepped around Alain and faced the young, green-haired trainer. "The moon really is made of cheese?" she guessed.

Wally gave her a quizzical look, then burst out laughing. "No, better than that. I won my battle!"

"You did! That's great! Who did you face?"

"A Mega Lucario. I guess Gallade is stronger than I thought after all!"

"You bet! See, I told you you'd win today." Zara said, coming up to Wally and bending down to give him a hug.

"Thanks for the support," Wally said gratefully.

"That's what friends are for. Well now that your here, think you can spare a minute to help us?'

"OK. What can I do?"

"You can grab some of those smaller bags from the bag of the truck, if you don't mind."

They worked for about two hours before the truck was finally empty. Alain was really tired by the time he jumped into the back of the truck for his last load, a couple of black trash bags, which felt like they were full of warm water. He lifted them and headed into the storage room, but as he went in, he couldn't see where he was going and ran straight into Zara, who was coming out for another load. Alain, in his surprise, dropped the bags, and they burst open, sending a cloud of fine white powder into the air.

Zara waved her hand in front of her face and coughed loudly, "What is this stuff?"

Alain just coughed and backed out into the hall to get away from the growing cloud. Zara followed quickly with Wally in tow. Wally was still coughing badly, even though he was out of the powder filled room.

"Wally," Zara asked bending down to his eye level, "where is your backpack?"

Wally's breathing had become more labored, and Alain looked at him in alarm. What was wrong with him? Was he alregic to that stuff?

"Courtyard," Wally wheezed, "Red box."

Zara took of running and was back in a few moments with said backpack. She was already fishing around in it for something. When her hand came out, it was holding an inhaler. She quickly handed it to Wally, who tore off the cap and took a long breath from it.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"Are you going to be OK?" Zara asked. Alain heard concern in her voice. "I can go get Nurse Joy, or someone else."

"No, I'll be OK," Wally said. "Better get away from that stuff." He walked quickly away from the open storage room door, then jogged down he hall. "Can we do something later?" he called as he left.

"I'll see you in the dining room after my battle!"

"OK, see you later!"

Zara watched Wally go untill he was out of sight. Then she sighed and turned back to the storage room. "So, back to my question. What is this stuff?"

"What happened to him?" Alain asked as passively as he could.

"Oh, Wally suffers from bad asthma. Breathing this stuff must have triggered it, and every reaction he has is a bad one. So maybe dust?"

"What?"

"Just thinking out loud. Is this stuff dust?"

"It felt heavier than that."

"Sand then? Or maybe-"

"Zara! What are you doing?!"

Alain jumped involuntarily. Looking up, he saw the tall salior from yesterday approaching the them, a scowl on his face. "Didn't Steven tell you not to open anything? You will be disqualified from these classes if I find anything open!"

"Hello Drake," Zara said calmly.

Drake reached them and looked down at the mess of powder on the floor. "What is this?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Just an accident. They were dropped, and broke open."

"And you couldn't be careful enough to prevent that?"

"Like I said, it was an accident. It's not like it's my fault the bags are so weak they break open when dropped."

Drake glarred at Zara for several minutes, and she starred back at him evenly. Finnaly he said, "Your battle is up next. Go get ready!"

"Yes sir!" Zara said and marched of toward the field, shooting a glance back at Alain, supposedly to see if he would follow. Then she rounded the corner and was gone.

With Zara gone, Drake glared down at Alain. "How did this happen?" he barked.

Alain turned toward the mess. "Just a bag we dropped. I'm not going to be disqualified, am I?"

"What is this that you scattered all over our clean floors, hm?" Drake asked.

A pause. "Not sure. Sand?" Alain guessed.

Drake glared at Alain for a moment before jerking his head back over his shoulder, a motion for Alain to leave.

Alain walked past Drake, but even as he left he felt Drake's eyes boreing into him as he walked down the hallway. All the way out to the courtyard he couldn't help but think about Lysander's face if he heard Alain had been disqualified. The thought was almost enough to scare him.

Out on the battlefield, Zara was standing in the blue box and a boy with spiky green hair, who had introduced himself yesterday as Eric, in the red one. Alain stepped to the side of the courtyard to watch, keeping his eyes intently on Zara. He was anxious to see if she would win her disadvantage battle since she had shown she was strong yesterday against Mega Swampert.

"Then battle begin!" It was Sidney acting as referee this time.

"Go Abamasnow!" Eric shouted, flinging a pokeball into the air. The Frost Tree Pokemon landed wih a thud on the battle field.

"C-can I stand here?"

Alain glanced down to find Wally looking shyly down at the ground. He shrugged and went back to watching the battle.

"Sceptile, at the ready!" Zara shouted. Her Pokemon landed on the field and growled at the opposing Abamosnow.

"She really thought she was going to face that Mega Glalie," Wally commented, more to himself than Alain, "but this is still an ice type."

"Abamosnow, use Razor leaf!"

"Dodge Sceptile!" Sceptile dodged easily

"Now Ice beam!"

"Dodge!" Sceptile dodged again.

"U-um," Wally looked up at Alain, curiosity on his face, "any idea w-why they would put her u-up against this Abamasnow and n-not Glalie?"

Alain gazed out at the battle for a while before answering, "Perhaps because Abamasnow resists grass type moves."

"Oh! Why didn't I th-think of that?"

"Abamosnow, Mega evolve!" The Frost Tree Pokemon roared and it's mega stone reacted with Eric's keystone.

"Sceptile, Dragon pulse!" The Dragon pulse collided with Abamasnow only seconds after it had finished Mega evolving. It had no chance to dodge. _Not that an Abamasnow really is fast enough to dodge anyway_ , Alain thought.

"Use Ice beam," the trainer commanded.

"Use Detect!" Zara cried. Sceptile's eyes glowed pale blue, and it smoothly dodged the Ice beam attack. After the haze in the air cleared, Zara touched her keystone. "From the depths of my heart, keystone respond! Sceptile, Mega evolve!" Her keystone and Sceptile's mega stone reacted.

As the glow of the Mega Evolution faded, Eric decided to make his move. "Abomasnow, use Blizzard!"

"Dodge it, Sceptile!" Zara cried, but it was to late. The powerful ice type attack struck Sceptile head on, and Sceptile buckled under the damage.

"Now Ice beam!"

"Not this time. Dragon pulse!" Zara commanded. Alain thought he heard anger in her voice as she gave the command, but she was far enough away it could have been just his imagination.

The attacks colided mid-field, struggling for dominance, but Dragon pulse won out, knocking Abomasnow back from its former position.

"Abomasnow, are you OK?" Eric called out. When said Pokemon shouted its name in responce, he commanded, "Use Razor leaf!"

"Leaf Blade, and cut through them!" Zara commanded.

Sceptile charged the oncoming Razor leaves, slicing a few of them out of its way, and crossing the field at top speed. When it reached Abomasnow, Zara cried, "Use Dragon pulse!"

The Dragon pulse knocked Abomasnow back even further, nearly causing it to hit the back wall. However, Abomasnow held on to the ground, and left long skid marks where it slid back.

"Now Blizzard!" Eric shouted, throwing his arm forward for emphasis.

"Detect Sceptile," Zara shouted.

Once again, Sceptile's eyes glowed pale blue and it fluently avoided the Blizzard attack.

"You can't keep dodging forever!" Eric shouted across the field. "We are going to beat you, just give up already! You're avoiding the inevitable!"

"If it's inevitable, then how am I avoiding it?" Zara countered with a chalenging smile. "This isn't over till it's over!"

Eric scowled. "Blizzard!"

"Dodge!" Zara commanded, but the Blizzard attack was simply to big to dodge, and Sceptile was pushed back across the field. It fell to its knees in pain.

 _That's not all that surrprising._ Alain thought, E _ven if it is a really strong Pokemon, taking two attacks that are super effective would take a toll on any Pokemon._

"Abomasnow, let's give them the inevitable! Ice beam!" Eric shouted.

Zara gazed at her Pokemon's struggling form before speaking to it. "Sceptile, if you can hear me, then please get up."

Sceptile raised its head and feebly said its name.

"I want to hear it on the moon!" Zara shouted. There was no mistaking the passion in her voice, no matter where in the courtyard you were.

Sceptile stood suddenly, threw its head back, and roared loud enough to make Alain want to cover his ears again. Glancing down, he saw Wally had covered his ears.

"Now use Frenzy Plant!" Zara practically screamed.

Sceptile turned its tail to the oncoming Ice beam attack, and planted it in the ground. Large roots began to grow from around Sceptile. They meet the Ice beam, plunged right through it, and gathered around Abomasnow. Then they all crashed down on the ice type. The force of the blow visibly shook the trees in the courtyard. Not suprisingly, after the smoke cleared, Abomasnow was lying face down on the battle field. In a flash it reverted to it normal form.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, so Sceptile is the winner! Therefore the victory goes to Zara!" Sidney announced.

"Sceptile, you did it!" Zara cried, racing onto the field and grabbing her Pokemon around the shoulders. It said its name tiredly, thumping her on the head to show it was happy. Zara winced slightly from the thump, then Alain saw her gaze travel up to one wall of the building. Following her gaze, he spotted Steven leaning out of one of the windows, nodding his head and smilling a proud smile.

Just then, a whistle sounded.

"Oh!" Wally jumped beside Alain and ran onto the field. "Zara, we've got to hurry! Supper's almost over!"

Alain looked around the courtyard. To his surrprise, Eric had left, along with everyone else. The yard was deserted except for him and Zara and Wally, who were leaving.

As they reached the doorway, Zara turned and called out, "You coming?"

Supper went fairly well that night. Alain sat with Zara and Wally, and he didn't see Jacklyn at all the whole time. After her loss, he noted, she had sort of disapeared for the rest of the day. _Well good ridiance_ , he thought.

Later, he climbed the stairs to his room and went in. Gordon was already there, reading a piece of paper aloud to himself. He stopped abruptly and looked up when Alain came in.

"Hey," he spluttered, trying to hide the paper behind his back, "what are doing here?"

"This is my room too," Alain answered flatly. Ignoring the rest of Gordon's comments about knocking, he went to take a shower. When he got out, Gordon was gone. _Maybe I can go to sleep before he gets back,_ he thought hopefully.

 _Tap, tap, tap._

A soft noise from outside the window. _Zara!_ Alain thought, _Wait, why do I care? Oh well, just go see if it is her._

He opened the window and looked up. Sure enough, Zara was looking back down at him from the rooftop. "Did you want to come up tonight, or not? I thought I'd ask, since you didn't just come up on your own." she asked.

Alain nodded and in a few minutes, had clamored up the fire escape onto the roof, and was taking in the beautiful view of Hoenn once again. "So why did you want me up here?" he asked her.

"Didn't particularly want you up here, just wanted to see if you would come up again," she replied. "Not many people come up the first time. Even less come up the second." After a pause, she tossed a pokeball into the air, and Sceptile burst out. The grass type rubbed its head against its trainer before lying down on the roof contentedly. Alain followed suit, releasing Charizard next to Sceptile. Sceptile growled angrily at his Pokemon, untill Zara swatted it lightly on the head. Charizard lay down opposite Sceptile and glared at it.

 _Wonder what's up with them..._ Alain thought.

"So, I wanted to ask you something," Zara said, drawing Alain's attention from the the Pokemon to her.

"Alright."

"Why did you come here?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, settling down with his back against Charizard.

"I mean, what's your goal? To master Mega Evolution? To discover more Pokemon that can Mega Evolve?"

"Charizard and I plan to defeat every Mega Evolved Pokemon we can find, and stand at the summit."

"So your goal here is to win the competition."

"Yes."

"That's your only goal?"

"Yes, why, what's your goal?"

Zara sighed thoughtfully. "Well, I do want to win, but I also want to help Wally get as far as he can in the competition, and I want to please the Champion above all else. He did give me my keystone and mega stone after all, and he's taken a lot of time to help me train."

"How can you do that?"

"What? Oh, you mean please him? In my mind, by winning, but somehow I think the Champion would be happy with me even if I didn't win. He always tells me just to do the best I can." She paused again. "I challenged him to a battle once. And I lost. From that point on, I've been trying to become strong enough to beat him." She turned back toward Alain. "I guess that's my goal, becoming stronger with my friends. Beating my friends and them beating me, in turn."

Alain just stared at her. How could losing please anyone, especially yourself?

"Scep?" Sceptile raised it's head again and brushed Zara's shoulder.

"What do you want Sceptile? I already gave you some pokeblocks," Zara questioned.

Sceptile stuck it's nose into her pocket, and came out with something small and metallic in its mouth. It dropped the object into Zara's hand and gazed at her expectantly.

"But Sceptile, we have guests!" Zara quietly protested.

"Tile?" Sceptile countered.

"OK, fine, just this once," Zara gave in. Turning to Alain, she asked, "Got any songs you like?"

Alain just shrugged, trying to figure out what she held. When she noticed him glancing at her hand, she held up the object Sceptile had dropped there. "Pitchpipe. Was my Dad's." Her face turned sad at these words. " Mine now," she added, sorrow evident in her eyes. She quickly wipped it away, however, and blew a note on the pitchpipe. the sound echoed out into the forest. Zara turned her face out toward the vastness of Hoenn.

And then she began to sing.

Softly at first, but steadily gainning confidence, the sound of her voice washed over Alain. It left him with a feeling of happiness and sorrow at the same time, or at least that was the best way he could descibe it. He felt...content.

The song she chose was a slow, gentle one. After a few moments of her singing, Sceptile joined in. Its voice was not nearly as melodius as Zara's, but she hardly seemed to notice, just kept singing. If he'd known the words, Alain thought he might would have joined in.

Even Charizard seemed to enjoy the sound of her voice, though it scowled as soon as Sceptile began its accompanyment.

When she finished, Zara kept staring off into the distance, clearly lost in though. Alain wasn't sure if he should interrupt, or just keep quiet. After a moment of silence, Zara blinked as though coming out of a daze, and stood up quickly.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I think I should probably go." And with that, she took off down the roof and jumped over the edge. Alain heard her feet hit the fire escape below.

He sat there on the roof with Charizard for some time, thinking of Marian and wondering how she was doing. He stroked Charizard's head absentmindedly. His thoughts driffted to Zara. She was a bit like Marian, now that he thought about it, especially when she was with Wally. Always asking questions.

Suddenly his holowatch went off. It was Lysandre, asking for a status report. Alain responded, saying he was fine, he had won two preliminary battles, and that there was no trouble to be reported.

There was no response for several minutes. Alain finnaly decided Lysandre had been occupied by something else more pressing when he recieved one more message. It read:

 _Keep your guard up. There are people there who will try to harm you if you are not careful._

Alain started to repond to the message, but was cut off when the device rang and told him Lysandre had hung up. He recalled Charizard and climbed down to his room. Then, climbing into bed, he couldn't help but wonder, _Who would want to harm me?_ He fell asleep with this thought alone in his mind.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 **So guys, for the sake of this story, please go to my profile page. There is a poll there asking how old you think Alain is. Please answer the poll, cause it makes my job a whole lot easier!**


	5. Capture the Stat Boost!

Day 4: Capture the Stat Boost!

Alain was up early the next morning. Despite the disturbing message from the night before, he had managed to sleep fairly well. Now he sat on his bed trying to come up with a plan to get the rest of the day to go well too.

And that meant starting with breakfast. He needed someway to get in without Jacklyn seeing him, or at least get where she wouldn't want to be near him. But how could he pull that off? Well, he'd tried coming in early, and he'd tried coming in on time and avoiding, so now he would try coming in later. Hopefully, she would already be seated and wouldn't want to move.

Gordon stirred on his bed, then sat up. "Awake already?" he asked. When Alain didn't respond, he went on to say, "What are ya doing so early in the morning?"

Alain didn't bother to argue that it was after six-thirty, and that was hardly early, considering breakfast was at seven.

Gordon gazed at him for a few moments before saying something that took Alain completely by surprise. "Your lucky, you know."

"Hm?" Alain looked up at him questioningly.

"You have the most beautiful girl in the whole school following you around, day and night. If I were you, I'd probably be bouncing of the walls right now." Then he chuckled, "Well, not literally, but you know what I mean."

Alain sure didn't. He stood and strapped his bag around his waist. "Believe me," he said as he turned to leave, "if I could trade places with you, I would." He walked out of the room, leaving Gordon with a stunned-and rather stupid-look on his face.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who feels this way! You're going to have some competition if you don't watch out!" Gordon called after Alain, but Alain turned a deaf ear. _Competition?_ he thought, _Fine by me. Maybe then she'll see I'm not interested and go bother someone else._

Alain tried his avoiding-Jacklyn plan out, and it seemed to work. He waited untill the very end of the meal, just before the whistle blew, to go in, and Jacklyn was no where in sight. He ate in peace, something he hadn't been able to do since he got there. _Well, being with Wally and Zara wasn't all bad. At least they respected my space,_ he thought. Then he chided himself for thinking of Zara again. Ever since last night he had thought of her, and her voice, several times.

"What are you doing in here!"

Alain jerked his head around to face the the person who had spoken. It was Drake.

"Breakfast is over, young man! You are supposed to be out on the battle field!" When Alain only got up slowly and moved toward the door, he shouted, "Move!"

That made Alain move faster. He jogged out the door, to see the all of the students assembled at one end of the battle field before a long table covered with a white cloth. They all turned to look at him as he can out the door, with an angry Drake following right behind him. _Alright, maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_ he thought.

"Hey, Alain, there you are! I wondered what kept you away from me this morning." It was Jacklyn, not suprisingly, who said this. Now, as she made her way over to him, he turned his thoughts to what Gordon had said earlier. It really did appear that several of the guys in the crowd were looking at him with jealous expressions. _Why can't Jacklyn just go flirt with one of them?_ he asked himself, scowling as he did. As he continued to scan the crowd, he accidently caught Astrid's eye. Her face spoke volumes. She wore the same devious smile from before, and Alain could just hear her voice saying, " _You didn't really strike me as a ladies man_ _._ " His face flushed in agitation, and he quickly looked away.

"Attention! Everyone look here, please!" It was the lady in the blue gown Alain had seen the first day of the seminar. She raised a hand, but when no one looked away from Alain and Jacklyn, she shot a hopeless look to someone behind him. To _Drake._

"Attention!" Drake bellowed as he walked to the front of the group, "If you want to learn anything at the Mega Evolution Seminar, you had better listen to your teachers!"

The lady, clearly named Glacia, smoothed her gown, then turned the class ovet to Drake. He said, "Now as many of you know, I am Drake, Dragon type master of the Hoenn Elite Four. What many of you may not know is, what is my favorite battling strategy?" Drake paused here for a moment. "I pick Pokemon that have high stats to see me through a battle. A strong Pokemon with high stats can be the difference between victory and defeat when you battle." He glowered down at the students. "That is what we will work on today. I will give you stat boosting items to use in a challenge."

Several students gave each other puzzled looks. One boy, Dave, raised his hand, "How can we use any items if all of our Pokemon are holding Mega Stones?"

Glacia smiled. "Like this." She turned to the table behind her, and swept off the cloth. Hidden beneath it were five variously colored spheres, each glowing brightly in the sunlight.

"These glass balls," Drake stated authoritatively, "have the ability to increase a single stat of any Pokemon that holds them. Regardless of whether or not that Pokemon is already holding an item." Turning back to the group of students, she went on, "We are going to have a little competition with these balls. The rules are a little complicated, so pay attention. You will all start from the others side of the field, riding on your Pokemon, cross to this side, and the first one over here will pick up one ball. That means one ball, not one ball in each arm or hand. Once one ball has been removed, the others will be locked in their current positions." He raised one of the balls off of the table, and the others immediatly dulled in apperance. "Once one ball has been removed, it is your goal to get it back across the battle field, and into a basket that will be placed there. The challange you will face is every other trainer trying to get the ball for themselves, so they can put it in the basket. Once a ball is out on the playing field, it's anyone's game. You can steal it from another trainer, and gain its stat increase. Then you must get it across the field. The trainers who are trying to steal the ball are alowed to use moves to strike their opponents, but not strike the trainers who are riding the Pokemon. If anyone is seen deliberatly striking another trainer, they will be disqualified from the challange, and dismissed from the seminar."

Glacia hurriedly took over here, "We will be dividing you up into four groups of six, considering that this field is small, and all your Pokemon are rather large. Are there any questions?"

Penny, with the Mega Lopunny, raised her hand. "What stats do the balls increase?"

"Excelent question," Glacia said. Touching the first ball, she explained, "This red ball increases power, the green one increases endurance, the blue speed, the pink accuracy, and the orange one increases evasiveness."

A boy in the back with glasses, who introduced himself as Sylvester, and fought with a Mega Sableye, raised his hand. "You said that the balls are made of glass. What happens if we break one?"

"You go back and get another," Drake explained.

The girl next to Sylvester raised her hand. She had introduced herself as Mary and fought with a Mega Mawile. Her red eyes glinted with worry when she asked, "What if our Pokemon isn't big enough to ride on?"

"Then just stay as close to it as you can. You'll have just as good a chance as everyone else does, I promise," Glacia stated. "Any more questions?" When no one raised their hand, she proceded to divide the trainers up into their respective groups.

Alain found he and Jacklyn were, thankfully, in different groups, so he could focus on this challange without her distracting him. The other five people in his group were Abby, Dave, Astird, a boy named Luke, and Zara. _So I get to fight Zara,_ he thought. _E_ _ven if it isn't a real battle, I'll still get a chance to see how strong she is._ Then he chided himself again. He had to focus on the challange. He had to win.

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long to battle Zara and the others. They were the first group to line up at the far side of the battle field with their Pokemon out of their pokeballs. Alain climbed onto Charizard's back and the Flame Pokemon turned its head to give him a energized look.

"Hey, so which ball are you going for first, Astird?" It was the other boy, Luke, who had spoken. He sat to the left of Alain in line, astride his Pidgeot, shaking his sandy-blonde hair out of his green eyes.

"The endurance ball," Astrid answered. "That will allow Absol to take all the hits you guys can throw at us while we get back over to the basket." She shifted her position on her Absol's back. "Which ball are you going for?"

"The speed ball. Pidgeot's going to zip over there and back so fast that no one will have a chance to attack us at all. How about you?" he asked, turning to Alain, "Which ball are you going for?"

Alain just said, "I'm thinking about it." He already had a good idea of what ball he would take. The power ball. That way he really could be the strongest, and just knock all of his opponents aside as he went for the basket.

"Are we ready?" Galcia asked from the side of the field.

"Yes!" the six students shouted.

"Then challange begin!" Galcia said.

Alain felt his stomach lurch slightly as Charizard took to the sky. As his Pokemon soared toward the table at the far end of the field, he looked around at his competition. Abby and her Altaria, as well as Astrid and Absol, were clearly the slowest ones in the group, laging behind all the others. Dave on his Salamence, and Luke and Pidgeot were pulling even with him, though Pidgeot was struggling to keep airborn with its trainer riding on it, and kept swoping lower and lower. And Zara and Sceptile were... Alain glanced down at the ground to find the female trainer and her Pokemon pulling ahead of everyone, racing across the field straight for the table.

"Mega Evolve!" came a cry from Alain's left, and he turned his head to see Pidgeot glowing with the energy of a Mega Evolution. The Bird Pokemon burst out of the light, rolled into a dive, and went straight for the table, gaining speed every second.

Sceptile was almost to the table when Pidgeot caught up and pulled ahead. It stuck out a talon and grabbed the speed orb, then banked hard, pulling itself out of the dive, flapping back toward the other side.

Salamence immediatly moved to block its path. "Mega Evolve!" Dave shouted, and the Dragon Pokemon's Mega Stone reacted with his keystone. Salamence roared and then swiped a Dragon Claw attack at Pidgeot, but the speed boost gave the Normal- and Flying-type a chance to veer left and narrowly miss being hit by the green claws.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Alain ordered, but by the time Charizard heard and started charging the attack, Pidgot had already zoomed by. Alain growled in frustration, and ordered Charizard into hot pursuit. He could hear Salamence's wings beating behind them as they follwed Pidgeot.

Pidgeot reached Altaria first. The Humming Pokemon had at some point already Mega Evolved, and was throwing Dragon Breath after Dragon Breath wildly at Pidgeot. However, the speed boost was helping it too much for any randomly aimed attack to hit it. Unfortunatly for Luke, Pidgeot was paying a little too much attention to the random attacks and not enough to the well aimed Psycho Cut that Absol launched at it. Pidgeot took the Psychic type move full in the chest, and the impact jarred the speed ball out of its talon.

"Pidgeot, use Air Cutter!" Luke shouted, sounding slightly paniced.

"Absol, use Dark Pulse!" Astrid ordered.

"Use Moonblast, Altaria!" Abby cried.

Alain wasn't sure if they were aiming for each other or if they were aiming for the ball, but all three attacks colided and exploded. In the confusion and the resulting smoke, the speed ball fell to the ground and broke.

"No!" shouted Luke, "I needed that!"

"Well you'll have to choose a different one now!" Abby called as she and Altaria turned and soared back down the field.

Alain turned Charizard around and headed back as well. He and Salamence were the closest, and were racing to get back across the field first. But try as Charizard might, it couldn't compete with a Mega Evolution. Salamence took the lead, and flying low, picked up the endurance ball in its mouth.

Alain decided that if he was going to face this stat boosted Mega Evolution, he needed to fight fire with fire. "Charizard, Mega Evolve!" he cried, and Charizard Mega Evloved. Then the Fire- and Dragon-type charged Salamence. "Use Dragon Claw!" Alain commanded.

"Intercept with Dragon Claw!" Dave ordered.

The two attacks met, but because of its ability, Tough Claws, Charizard easily beat off Salamence's Dragon Claw attack, and sliced its claws across the Dragon Pokemon. Salamence reared back from the attack, but not nearly as much as it normally would have. The endurence boost it was getting caused even a super-effective hit like Dragon Claw to not affect it very much. Salamence roared as well as it could around the ball and charged on past Charizard.

"Follow them Charizard, and use Flamethrower!" Alain ordered. Charizard roared as well, and streaked after Salamence.

The Flamethrower attack struck Salamence's side. Salamence rolled in the air to rebalance itself, but other than that, it gave no sign that it had ever been struck.

"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!" Alain heard form below him. Moments later, the rainbow colored energy struck Salamence's neck. It reeled its head back, and struggled to right itself for a moment, but did right itself and flew on. He looked down to see Zara glaring up at Salamence in frustration. _She's trying to knock the ball out of its mouth!_ he realized. _Well maybe we can help with that. Anything to be able to land a decent hit on that Pokemon._

He urged Charizard to go faster, and they sped up to Salamence. "Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered, and Charizard sliced its claws across Salamence once again.

"Dragon Pulse!" Zara cried out from below, and the blast of energy colided with Salamence moments after the Dragon Claw had struck.

"Psycho Cut!" Astrid clearly wanted in on the action as well. Absol's Psycho Cut connected right behind Sceptile's Dragon Pulse.

In the confusion of having to fight on three fronts, Salamence dropped the ball, about halfway across the field, and Absol scooped it up as it fell.

The Distaster Pokemon ran for the basket and probably would have won the challange, despite several Dragon Pulses from Sceptile, if it wasn't for Pidgeot launching an Air Cutter at it at the last possible second. The attack struck Absol in the face, and despite Absol not taking much damage, the ball in its mouth shattered.

Charizard and Alain turned back to the others spheres, but oddly enough, they were all a dull color. Then Alain saw it. The accuracy sphere was missing. And looking around, he noted, so were Altaria and Abby.

Suddenly, a Moonblast attack came hurtling down from above them, and struck Salamence's back. Everyone's head jerrked upward to see Altaria's soaring above them, the accuracy ball clutched in its right talon. It was making its way down field from high above everyone else.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Alain ordered. Chaizard launched a Flamethrower up at Altaria, but Abby countered it with a Dragon Breath, and the attacks cancelled out.

"Air Cutter!" Luke shouted to his Pokemon, but the result was the same as Charizard's Flamethrower. With its greatly increased accuracy, Altaria could counter any and every attack before the attack ever had a chance to hit it.

"Hey, Alain!"

Alain looked down to see who was shouting at him. It was Zara, on an agrivated looking Sceptile. He told Charizard to fly down to them.

When he was within hearing distance, Zara called up, "Can you get Altaria any lower? We have to try and overpower any attacks it throws at us, but the only attack I can get up there is the one Altaria is immune to."

Alain nodded and ordered Charizard back up. Charizard kept climbing, eventually passing Altaria, who was busy warding off Air Cutters from Pidgeot. "Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered.

Charizard's Thunder Punch struck Altaria, and the Humming Pokemon wavered mid-flight before dropping several feet. Abby was ready for this however, "Dragon Breath" she ordered, and the attack rocketed back up at Charizard. It connected, and Charizard also fell several feet.

"Again!" Alain shouted. The same thing happened again. Altaria was now just about two of Mega Charizard's height off the ground, but Charizard had fallen further than it, leaving it open to fly right back up.

"Sceptile, Frenzy Plant!" Alain looked over at Zara to see Sceptile's roots growing out rapidly toward him and Charizard. He quuckly urged his Pokemon up, but he didn't need to; the attack connected with Altaria instead, and Alain saw the accuracy orb break just before dust and leaves blocked his view.

So that left only two balls on the table, the evasivness ball, and the power ball. Alain turned Charizard back toward the table, and suddenly realized, he was the closest. "Let's go, Charizard!" he shouted, and Charizard tore down the field at the table. Salamence and Altaria tried to get there first, but both Pokemon had taken a lot of damage, and concequently had slowed down considerably. And Absol and Sceptile were just too far away.

That power ball was all his.

Charizard scooped up the power ball in its mouth and instantly Alain noticed the effect it had on the Flame Pokemon. Charizard's wing beats were harder and louder, and it flew straighter and with purpose like he had never seen before. If he could have seen Charizard's eyes, he would have noticed the spark in them.

Salamence was the first one to chalenge them. "Hyper Beam!" Dave cried, and the Dragon Pokemon roared before releacing the powerful Normal type turned Flying type attack at them. Alain was about to call Flamethrower to intercept it when he remembered that Charizard couldn't use tha move without breaking the ball in its mouth. "Thunder Punch!" he ordered instead.

Charizard's Thunder Punch fought with the Hyper Beam for a minute before breaking through it and landing a direct hit on Salamence. Salamence roared in pain, then, exhausted, pulmetted out of the sky, and crashed on the ground. It didn't revert to its normal form, however.

Alan watched Salamence fall, then urged Charizard on. His Pokemon Thunder Punched Altaria out of the way, and Dragon Clawed Pidgeot to the ground. Absol posed a little more of a problem, seeing as see could launch attacks up to them, and Charizard couldn't Flamethrower it back. But Charizard flew low enough to get in a Dragon Claw, which struck the Disaster Pokemon despite its intercepting with Mega Horn.

That left only Zara and Sceptile between him and the basket. "Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered as Charizard closed in.

"Dodge it, then Leaf Blade!" Zara commanded.

Sceptile nimbly dodged the attack, then cut it's Leaf Blade attack up Charizard's side. The attack wasn't very effective, but was still noticeably strong.

"Thunder Punch, Charizard!"

"Dodge!"

Charizard dove forward, attack ready to strike, but Sceptile dodged again. The Forest Pokémon had successfully avoided the attack, but in dodging it, it had left the basket unguarded.

"Charizard," Alain said to his Pokemon, and Charizard flew for the goal.

"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!" The Dragon type attack took Alain by surprise. He hadn't expected Zara to try and stop him when he was this close, but in hindsight, he realised he should have know better. _She didn't quit when fighting her disadvantage battle, so why would she quit now?_ he thought. _Wait, I'm about to lose my chance, and I'm thinking about how determined my opponent is..._

Charizard whipped around to glare at Sceptile. Alain urged his Pokemon back to the basket, but it was too late. Without Zara even giving a command, Sceptile hurled itself at Charizard, arms glowing with a Leaf Blade attack. Alain braced himself for the impact, but it never came. Sceptile swiped it's leaves across Charizard's face. Alain heard the sound of glass breaking. Shards of glass fell from Charizard's mouth, and Alain realised that he had lost his chance at the victory.

 _This isn't over yet. There is one more ball._

"Charizard, get up!"

"Sceptile, let's go!"

Both Pokemon leaped into action. They seemed to know, even without a word being said, that this was a race. A winner-take-all race. They raced past Absol, avoiding a Dark Pulse attack, Altaria, Sceptile Leaf Blading it out of the way, Pidgeot, Charizard sending a Flamethrower its way, and Salamence, who was still standing on the ground. But try as Charizard might, it couldn't compete with Sceptile's superior speed. The Forest Pokemon pulled ahead just enough to reach the table first, and snatched the evasiveness ball in its mouth.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted. Charizard immediately swipped at Sceptile with its Claw, but Sceptile just danced away, dodged around Charizard, and streaked away. Alain thought he saw Sceptile shoot his Pokemon a smug look as it ducked by, but he couldn't be sure. Whatever happened, Charizard roared furiously, and charged after Sceptile.

Salamance and Altaria both aimed an attack at Sceptile as it passed, but Sceptile just used Detect to get out of the way. Absol and Pidgeot were a bit more of a challenge. Constantly moving to avoid Air Cutters, Dark Pulses, Quick Attacks, and Mega Horns, Sceptile was held up in the middle of the field, giving Alain and Charizard a chance to pass them and get to the goal.

Sceptile eventually passed the two attacking Pokemon, and headed straight for Charizard. "Use Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.

"Use Detect!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile's eyes glowed blue, and it dodged the Flamethrower attack.

"Now Dragon Claw!"

"Dodge it!"

Sceptile dodged again.

Alain growled in frustration. "Dragon Claw!"

"Out of its way, Sceptile!"

Sceptile cleanly dodged the attack, but no matter how much it moved, it couldn't get at the goal. Charizard refused to budge from its place in front of it.

"Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile ran at Charizard, shoving it out of the way. It twisted it's head untill it had the ball directly over the goal, then dropped the ball.

 _Do something!_ Alain's mind screamed.

"Flamethrower!" he shouted.

Charizard let loose with a powerful Flamethrower. The Fire type attack struck the ball, and knocked it off course. When the flames had subsided, the ball was on the ground, now nothing more than a pile of glass shards.

A whistle sounded.

"That's it," Drake said, walking onto the field. "Now we'll get another set of balls and the next group will compete in our challenge."

Charizard and Sceptile reverted to their original forms and glared at each other.

"Char, Charizard!"

"Scep?! Sceptile tile Scep!"

"Hey, Sceptile, calm down, the challenge is over," Zara said tiredly. She clamored down from Sceptile's back and returned it to its pokeball. Alain did the same with Charizard.

"Alright, everyone in the second group, please line up at the far side of the field," Glacia instructed. Alain saw Wally walk up to the line with his Gallade next to him. He waved to Zara, who winked back at him.

Alain walked away from the field and toward the Pokemon center, with Zara following him. He handed Charizard's pokeball over to Nurse Joy, then sat down to wait. Zara handed over Sceptile and sat down across from him.

After an awkward moment of silence, Zara said, "Um, that was an interesting challenge."

Alain turned his sharp blue eyes on her. "I would have won, it you hadn't stopped us."

"Well, same to you. You know, I would have had that win in the bag if you had been in a different group." After another moment of silence, she added, "You're not upset with me, are you?"

"Why do you care if I am?" he asked.

Zara sighed. "Its commplicated. The gist of it is, the Champion said that I had to make at least one new friend while I'm here, and no one else seems interested in the part."

Alain's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would he tell you to do that?" _That's an odd command from your teacher. Wouldn't it only distract her from winning the competition?_

"Oh, he's made it quite clear that he's worried about me. Since I don't really have any friends, other than Wally of course, and there's the situation with my parents, he feels that I'm too...insecure."

"And you're fine with that?"

Zara sighed again. "Yes, and no. Like I said, it's complicated."

After a pause Alain ventured to ask, "What's the situation with your parents?" _Alain! You are not here to try and make friends with this girl. You have a goal here, and everywhere else too! You can't get attached to her, because you don't want to have to push her away, like you did with Marian,_ his mind told him. _I'm not, I'm only trying to find our more about her life,_ he thought back, _Who knows, maybe I'll learn something useful abou her, or possibly about Steven._

 _"_ Oh, when I was about ten, they left on a trip to another region, and they never came back. They never call, never write, never visit." Alain noticed her eyes were moist as she went on, "But I know they're still out there. They still have a house here in their names. Just wonder why they don't come back for me." The last sentence came out in a whisper. She wipped her eyes, and said, "And I don't want anyone to think of me as a case that deserves their pity. I'm over that, was a long time ago. The Champion looks out for me now. Just please don't go spreadng that around, no one really needs to know about it."

Silence fell again.

 _I wonder who her parents were, and why they did leave such a talented young girl behind?_ Alain chided himself for thinking of Zara as talented. Why did he care if she was? His frustration must have shown on his face, because Zara asked, "Are you OK?"

"Alain, you Charizard is finished healing," Nurse Joy said.

Alain stood, and giving Zara a respectful nod, took Charizard's pokeball and left.

The rest of his day passed fairly uneventfully, except for Jacklyn and Brittney following him around for most of it. Jacklyn had won her round of the competition, and was making sure everyone, especially Alain, knew it. He was listening to her repeat the play-by-play of her victory for the fifth time as he walked to his room.

"And then I told Blaziken to drop the ball, and I won," she finished. "So this is where your room is?" she asked, addressing Alain.

"Mmm-hmm," was all the responce he offered.

"Then I guess I'll have to come walk you to breakfast, now that I know where it is. I'll see you later. Come on Brittney." And sending him a seductive smile, she turned and walked back down the hall with her friend.

What she said didn't register with him untill later. At the moment, all Alain wanted to do was crash and enjoy the peace and quiet. He flopped down on his bed, and nearly fell asleep, when he realised something was off. Zara hadn't tapped on his window. _Guess she wanted to be by herself to tonight,_ he thought. He turned over and tried to relax, but couldn't get comfortable. The fact that Zara wasn't asking him to come up bothered him, for some strange reason. _She said she wanted to be friends. So why is she staying away from me? Oh, why do I care?_

But he did care. So he got up, left his comfortable bed and room behind, and climbed the fire escape to the roof. But, to his amazement, Zara wasn't there. He looked all up and down the roof, but she was no where to be found. Eventually he climbed back down, feeling irritated and strangely disappointed.

Not wanting to go back to his room without finding Zara, he climbed back down the stairs and looked through the halls. Still, he couldn't find her. He looked for about half an hour before he finally found Steven in one of the training rooms.

"Why, hello Alain. What are you doing down here?" Steven asked when he saw Alain.

Alain got straight to the point. "Have you seen Zara?"

"Yes," the Champion replied, his eyebrows raised. He asked, "any particular reason your looking for her?"

"No," Alain said bluntly.

"Well there must be a reason," Steven prompted.

"She wasn't where she usually is. Where is she?" Alain asked a little tersely.

Steven looked back at his work and answered, "In the swimming pool."

Alain turned abruptly and struck out for the pool. Zara, as it turned out, was there, swimming, with Wally sitting on the edge watching, and an Azumarill swimming circles around her.

"I don't think your every going to out swim my Azumarill," Wally chuckled as Alain walked in.

Zara pulled up next to him and hauled herself out of the pool. Alain noted that she was wearing a wet suit. "Maybe not," she admitted, "but I am getting faster." Looking up, she spotted Alain and waved. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing," he replied. Silence fell.

"Well, now that your here," Zara began awkwardly, "want to swim with us?"

Alain didn't exacty want to say no, but he really didn't want to encourage the idea of them being friends. "I don't have a swimsuit." was his excuse.

"No problem," Zara said, " the Elite Four thought of that. There's a closet back there full of them, just go find one that fits."

Alain opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. _No point in saying no now,_ he thought.

He found a wetsuit his size, and was soon chest deep in the cool, chlorine-smelling water. Zara was still swimming laps across the pool, doing a breast stroke. _This is actually kind of nice,_ Alain thought as he closed his eyes and leaned his back against the side of the pool.

Unfortunatly, it wouldn't last.

A moment later Alain heard the door open, laughter coming from the people who came in. _Feminine_ laughter. Opening his eyes, he saw what he'd been afraid of: Jacklyn, Brittney, Astrid, and several other girls coming into the room, tailed by Gordon, Luke, and a couple of other boys.

"Oh, great." Zara had just voiced Alain's thoughts perfectly. She had stopped swimming, and was watching the new-comers with annoyance in her eyes. "Did you guys come to train?" she asked, "Beacuse if you did, we can leave."

"No, we just came to swim," Luke clarified.

"But you can leave anyway," Jacklyn added.

Zara scowled at her. "Anyway," she said through gritted teeth, "there are wetsuits in the closet back there." Brittney opened her mouth, but Zara just kept talking, "No, you cannot wear just a normal bathing suit in here. Acadamy rules."

Several of the students shrugged and they all headed for the closets.

Alain pulled himself out of the pool and went to grab his clothes. He wanted nothing to do with swimming or this pool if it invloved Jacklyn. Clearly Zara had the same idea, because she had gotten out of the pool as well, and was already in the dressing rooms.

Jacklyn and Astrid were the first girls out of the dressing room. "Last one in the pool is a rotten egg!" Astrid called out, and she and Jacklyn raced for the pool.

Everything would have been fine, if only Azumarill had stayed in the water. But the small Water- and Fairy-type pulled itself out of the water right at the exact place that Jacklyn and Astrid were going in. Out of concern for his Pokemon, Wally flung himself between the girls and Azumarill. Astrid stopped before she reached them, but Jacklyn either couldn't stop fast enough, or just didn't stop. She rammed right into Wally, causing all three of them to tumble into the water.

Jacklyn surrfaced almost immediatly, spluttering and hissing furiously. Azumarill followed quickly after. But Wally didn't surface. Azumarill dove under, and Alain rushed to the side of the pool and looked down. Standing at the bottom was Wally, flailing in an attempt to get back to the surface, with Azumarill tugging at the back of his wetsuit.

 _He can't swim,_ Alain realised.

Without another thought, he dove into the water. Wally reached up to him as he approched, clearly starting to run out of air. Alain reached him and had an arm around his waist, when Wally suddenly lurched in his arm and let out a violent stream of air bubbles. Alain dragged him up to the surface, and layed him down beside the pool. Wally eyes were wide, and he was coughing violently, water coming up, but seemingly no air going back in.

"What happened!" someone screamed, and suddenly Zara was beside him, grabbing Wally in her arms and running out the door. Alain was about to follow her, when he remembered he was still wearing his wetsuit. Grabbing his clothes, he ran into the dressing room, changed, then ran back out after Zara.

Zara was in the Pokemon Center, wringing her hands and watching Nurse Joy give Wally asthma medicine through the glass of the treatment room's window. "What happened to him?" she asked as soon as he came in.

Alain explained what had happened.

"That would cause an asthma attack," Zara said.

The door to the treatment room opend just then, and Wally and Nurse Joy came out.

"Is he going to be alright?" Zara asked.

"Yes," Nurse Joy answered, "he'll be fine, but you might want to stay away from the pool from now on."

Zara nodded. Turning to Alain she said warmly, "Thank you so much for saving Wally!"

"Th-thanks from m-m-me too," Wally struggled to get out.

Zara gave Wally an affectionate look. "Maybe we should call it a day," she suggested. When Wally nodded his agreement, she put a hand on his back and steered him out the door. "Goodnight!" she called back to Alain as they left.

Alain watched them go, then left and went to his room. He showered, even though his hair was already wet, and lay down to sleep. The last thought he remembered thinking before sleep took him was, _I wonder what Mairin would say if she knew about this..._

 _Xxxxxxxxxx_

 **So everyone, am I doing a good job of keeping Alain in character? Not sure mmyself, but he does always seem to be fighting his emotions in the Mega Evolution Specials.**

 **Please review!**


	6. Silence or No Silence?

Day 5: Silence or No Silence?

The next day dawned bright and early for Alain. Gordon was still snoring away when he got up and around. He was just securing his bag around his waist when Gordon awoke, and, rather loudly yawned and asked what time it was. Alain chose to ignore him. When Gordon repeated his question, he just pointed to the clock on the table between the beds.

"Six-fifty already!" Gordon shouted, jumping out of bed and grabbing things out of his suitcase. "I've got ten minutes to be ready!"

Alain just glanced at him before going to open the door. He turned the knob... and nearly got his nose punched by Brittney's hand. Evidently, she had been about to knock.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully, putting her hand behind her back, "is Gordon here?"

Alain glanced back to see Gordon shoving things into his suitcase, and frantically shaking his head.

"Yeah, he's in here, but he's busy," Alain answered.

"Oh. Well, I'll just wait here for him. I'm waiting for-"

"Good morning, Sugar. Sleep well last night?" a very familiar voice asked. Jacklyn came up and grabbed his arm.

"Stop bothering me," he growled, but she only replied innocently, "I said I would come walk with you to breakfast." Thus she dragged him down the hall and the stairs to the cafeteria, with Gordon and Brittney following at there own pace.

Jacklyn chose a seat next to Tracy, and Alain was forced to sit next to her. She did release his arm to talk to her violet eyed friend, but soon was tugging at his sleeve to get him into the breakfast line. Alain just sat there and did his very best to ignore her. She made this rather difficult when she dug her nails into his arm, but she finally gave up and left him, preferring to have food than a boy at the moment.

When she was gone, Alain put his head in his hands and groaned to himself. Why him?

"Morning, sleepy head," someone chuckled next to him. Looking up, he saw it was Zara.

"I've been up for an hour," he said, confused.

"Then why do you look like your exhausted?" she asked, concern in her voice.

Alain groaned again. "Not exhausted, just fed up." _Why is she so concerned about me?_

"With Jacklyn?" Zara guessed.

Alain nodded.

"Well," Zara said as she looked Jacklyn's direction, an amused look on her face, "she's quite a character, isn't she?" After Alain didn't respond, she went on, "I just wanted to thank you again for saving Wally. It means the world to me. If there's anything you need me to do for you, just let me know."

Alain just said, "You already thanked me."

"I know, but I really am grateful. If you want, I could-"

"Hey, w-watch out-t-t!"

Both trainers' heads jerked in the direction of Wally's excalmation. The green haired trainer was standing a few feet away, balancing two trays rather precariously, one in each hand. He had shouted at Brittney, who was carelessly rushing by him. She brushed past Wally, and Wally stumbled, causing the trays he carried to go flying.

Alain was on his feet in an instant, and Brittney quickly turned around, but neither of them were close enough to have grabbed anything. Zara, however, leaped forward, grabbed both trays and swinging them upward, caught almost everything that had been sent flying on them, biscuits, sausage, and even a bowl of cereal. She missed two apples; instead, she kicked one of them back up into the air with her shoe and caught it, the other she balanced on top of her head for a few seconds before letting it roll off onto a tray.

All eyes turned to stared at her.

"Zara, look out!" Wally shouted, and she whirled in his direction, only to have a glass of milk, the only thing she clearly hadn't seen, hit her in the face and splash all over her. "Are you OK?" Wally asked, rushing up to her and taking one of the trays.

"Well Wally, even though we don't have to pay for these meals, it looks like this one is on me," she replied chuckling nervously, and looking down at her wet shirt.

"Sorry!" Brittney cut in, "Everyone always tells me I'm a klutz. Can I help with...something? That was amazing, by the way."

"How did you do that?" several people asked.

"No, I think we've got it. No use crying over spilt milk, right?" Zara replied hastily, chuckling nervously at her own joke. Turning away, she left the cafeteria, and Wally went to find a seat far away from Gordon.

Alain's brain was working hard and fast. How had she pulled of that catch? He hadn't seen many people who were so coordinated. How had she learned to do that? What other talents was she hiding? _No, not talents. Secrets. That's better. And why do you care anyway? Everyone has secrets, and you shouldn't be interested in anyone else's._

Jacklyn came back to her seat, with a tray full of food in her hands. "So, what was that all about?"

Alain, as usual, just ignored her. And when she wasn't looking, he slipped away and went to get his own breakfast.

A few minutes after he finished, someone said, "Attention!" It was Sydney. "We're ready to begin today's class, if you'll all head out to the battlefield."

Everyone filed out onto the battlefield. Outside, Phoebe stood, stretching, with her Duskinor floating beside her. "Good morning, everyone. As some of you already know, I am Phoebe, Ghost type Master of the Hoenn Elite Four. I've been asked to teach you all something about by battling strategies. Unfortunately, I doubt if any of you could actually replicate the strategy I'm teaching today."

Several students glanced around in confusion.

"As those of you who have challenged me before know," Phoebe went on, "I have the ability to communicate with my Ghost type Pokemon. I often use this to confuse and confound my opponents by attacking without them knowing what attack is coming or when. As I said before, I doubt any of you could truly replicate this strategy. So instead, I'm going to teach you a simplified variation of this. We are going to battle non-verbally."

More confused looks among the students.

When no one said anything, Sydney began to explain the rules. "We are going to have you all battle once. During these battles, you will not be permitted to speak. Instead, you'll have to direct your Pokemon with hand gestures or sounds like clapping or stomping. Any talking will end your battle immediately, and you'll lose. We'll give you a few minutes after we explain all the rules to agree with your Pokemon on what signals you'll use. Also, while other people are battling, we ask that the rest of you be quiet so the Pokemon can hear any signals that require sound, and so we don't confuse your talking with the battling trainers' talking."

Phoebe took back over with, "Now this is rather tricky to get the hang of, so we will give you a warning the first time we catch you talking, but that's all the warning you get." She stopped and turned to a table behind her, but then turned back around and added, "Thank you Duskinor, I almost forgot, when your finished, you can go outside and practice some more. Battlefields have been marked out for you out there. Now," she said, turning back to the table and grabbing a clipboard, "if there are no questions, we'll get started."

No one raised there hand, and the students broke up and released their Pokemon, speaking in hushed whispers with them. Alain tossed Charizard's pokeball, and the Fire type flared its wings when it came out.

"I'm guessing you heard most of that," Alain began, and Charizard's voice rummbled in its throat to show its assertion. "What should I use as signals?" and he rubbed Charizard's neck. "How about I hold out a hand like a claw for Dragon Claw, and punch the downward for Blast Burn. I can punch my other hand for Thunder Punch," and he demonstrated by putting a fist in his open hand like he was threating to give someone a knuckle sandwich. "But what for Flamethrower?"

Charizard opend it's mouth and stretched it's wings outward toward him. Alain studied his Pokemon for a moment before mimicking it's actions with his arms. "You'll understand that?" Charizard nodded. "Okay. I'll point in a direction if I want you to move or dodge that way. Anything else?" Charizard shook its head, "Alright, now that we have that settled, we can just focus on winning the battle," Alain said decisvely, and returned Charizard to its pokeball.

"Alright, who would like to go first?" Phoebe asked.

No one raised their hand.

"Come on now people, don't make me pick!" she prompted.

Still no one raised their hand.

"Then I guess I will have to pick. Okay, you with the green hair, and you with the blonde. Sorry, I don't know all of your names yet," she said, pointing at Wally, then at Zara. They both stepped forward and up to the battle field.

Sydney went to the side of the field to referee. "You both under stand the rules?"

Both trainers nodded. Alain noticed that Wally looked strangely calm, instead of his usual, jittery, self.

"Then as soon as I begin the battle, no talking. Battle begin!" Sydney cried.

Zara and Wally both threw their pokeballs, and Gallade and Sceptile burst onto field. Silence reigned over the field for a few moments, both Pokemon studing their trainers, waiting for any movement, any command.

Then Wally put two fingers in his mouth and whistled a single loud blast. Gallade leaped into action, charging down field at Sceptile. Its arm began to glow, readying a Psycho Cut attack.

Zara responded by punching her fist into her other hand, then sliding two fingers down her arm from her wrist to her elbow. Sceptile readied a Leaf Blade attack. Gallade jumped and Sceptile leaped to meet it, both attacks colliding and both Pokemon falling back, evenly matched.

As Gallade fell, Wally whistled two short blasts, and the Psychic and Fighting type touched the ground for only a second before leaping at Sceptile again. Sceptile didn't move away, and was struck by Gallade's Close Combat.

Zara whistled between her teeth, and Sceptile turned its head so it had one eyes on her and one still on Gallade, who was drawing back from the Close Combat. Zara put one hand over her mouth and then threw the hand forward. Sceptile turned its head back to Gallade and let loose a Dragon Pulse. Wally whistled another order, but he wasn't fast enough, and Gallade took the Dragon Pulse attack.

Silence fell as Gallade stood back up. After a tense moment, Wally touched his keystone and it reacted with Gallade's Mega Stone. Gallade Mega Evolved, and Wally whistled one high blast and two low ones. Gallade raced at Sceptile once again, this time charging a Leaf Blade.

Zara watched all this without giving any signs that she was worried. She whistled again, and threw both her hands to her left. Sceptile dodged Gallade's Leaf Blade by jumping to the left. Zara whistled again, and drew two fingers down her arm, just like before, and Sceptile responded to the command by slicing across Gallade's back with a Leaf Blade attack. The Blade Pokemon was knocked across the field from the blow.

Wally whistled one long blast again, a little shrilly, and Gallade turned quickly to face Sceptile. It once again charged the Forest Pokemon, this time with a Pschyo Cut readied.

Alain saw Zara glance at Sceptile, and it nodded back at her. She touched her keystone, and Sceptile Mega Evolved. Her Pokemon roared, and whipped its tail around to put it between itself and Gallade. Zara held both hands in front of her eyes, open, palms outward.

 _Just like Steven did when he ordered Psychic,_ Alain though, remembering his battle with Mega Metagross.

Sceptile's eyes suddenly glowed blue. It used Detect, and dodged the Psycho Cut. But Wally was ready. He whistled two short blasts, and Gallade jumped at Sceptile in a Close Combat attack. Zara didn't have a chance to give the order to dodge, and Sceptile was struck left and right by Gallade's arms and legs.

As Gallade jumped back from the attack, Zara threw her hand out from her mouth again, and Sceptile launched a Dragon Pulse straight at Gallade's chest. The attack hit Gallade before Wally could whistle for it to dodge, and Gallade tumbled across the field, stopping on its knees several feet away from Wally.

Zara ordered another Dragon Pulse. Wally whistled, very shrilly, a Psycho Cut, which Gallade executed and broke through Sceptile's Dragon Pulse.

As the dust settled, perfect silence fell over the whole group. Gallade, Wally, Sceptile, and Zara all stood staring at each other, waiting for the other trainer to make a move.

Then Zara whistled and threw both hands above her head vigorously, and with a roar, Sceptile plunged it's tail into the ground. Huge plants started to grow rapidly toward Gallade. Wally frantically whistled a Close Combat, and Gallade manage to take out the first couple of plants before they simply overwhelmed it.

Or they would have.

Instead of striking Gallade, the Frenzy Plant collided with a Fire Blast that came from outside the courtyard walls. The attacks exploded, and smoke and dust momentarily covered the field. Alain put a hand in front of his eyes to shield them from the dust, and tried to look up at the walls to see who or what had launched the Fire type move. What was going on?!

X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara spotted the Fire blast coming down from the wall only seconds before it intercepted Sceptile's Frenzy Plant. As smoke and dust covered the courtyard, she noticed several people trying to peer through the cloud to see who had launched the attack. She didn't try to peer through; she didn't need to. Her stomach clenched in fear as she guessed who it was.

 _No. Not here, not now. I thought I could forget about that for just a couple of weeks._

"What was that?!" Steven shouted as he, Drake, and Glacia raced into the courtyard. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, not that I can tell," Phoebe answered.

"Where did that explosion come from?"

"From over the eastern wall," Sydney said. In much softer tones, Zara barely heard him add "I think we may be under attack."

"I'll go out and see who it is," she volunteered immediately.

"No," Steven said back just as quickly, "absolutely not."

"Steven, please just-!"

"No. I don't want you getting hurt. Stay here with the other students," Steven ordered, then motioning for the Elite Four to follow him, he went out the main door to face whatever danger awaited.

Phoebe addressed the whole group, telling them to stay calm and stay in the courtyard while the five of them investigated. Zara watched them leave anxiously.

The whole group of students burst into hurried conversation as soon as they had gone. Zara glanced around the courtyard, seeing everything, but taking in none of it. Her mind was outside the building, worrying the combat that was sure to come. When she was sure the Elite Four were outside and weren't coming back, she walked up to Sceptile and whispered softly to it, "Let's go on the roof and see who this is."

Sceptile flashed and reverted from its Mega form, then turned so Zara could climb on its back. She jumped on, holding onto the seeds on her Pokemon's back, and Sceptile ran to the wall of the courtyard and climbed up.

Once they gained the roof, Zara leaped off Sceptile and raced to the outer edge of the roof. Dropping to her knees, she peered cautiously over the edge. Below her, Steven stood behind Metagross, facing a whole crowd of Team Magma members. At the head of the group stood Maxie, his Camerupt before him. The team leader seemed to be talking to the Champion, but Zara couldn't make out any of the words. Suddenly, Maxie raised one arm and shouted something uninteligible, and Camerupt attacked Metagross with a Rock Slide. Steven ordered a Flash Cannon back, and soon everyone was firing attacks back and forth.

Zara stayed on the roof for a few minutes, looking for an opening to send a Dragon Pulse at one of the opposing Pokemon, but the Elite Four held their own. They steadily drove Team Magma back from the school.

 _Well then, I guess there's nothing to worry about. Give them a few more minutes, and this will all be ancient history,_ Zara thought, relieved. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flash of red. Directing her attention in that direction, she ran down the roof, till she had rounded the corner of the building. Below her were two Team Magma members, slinking in the bushes. And one of them had purple hair. _Where is she headed, and what is she up to?_ Zara wondered _Whatever it is, it can't be any good._

Climbing back onto Sceptile, she ordered the Forest Pokemon back down the wall. _They were headed away from the fight. Must be headed to the back of the school. But what in the world are they after here?_ She returned her Pokemon to its pokeball, and raced for the back of the courtyard. _Whatever it is, I'll make sure they never get it._

"Zara, what's going on?" Oh, right, Wally.

Wiping all signs of anxiety from her face, she turned to him and said, "We're being attacked by Team Magma, but don't worry, Steven and the Elite Four are about to send them packing."

"So, where are you going in such a hurry? You're not going to disobey Steven's orders, are you?" Wally asked, disbelief in his voice.

Zara hesitated. "I'm just going to check the other doors, make sure they're locked, stuff like that." _I can't stay here much longer, or Team Magma is going to get into the school._

"Then I'm coming with you," Wally said firmly.

"No, you need to stay here," Zara said, then seeing Wally's face grow indignent, she quickly went on, "to keep everyone out here safe. Who knows when another Fire Blast could come over the wall?" _You know that's not the real reason!_ she thought guiltily, but quickly shoved the thought aside. _He can't come, and he can't know the real reason why he can't._

Wally frowned, but didn't protest. Zara hated to leave him upset with her, but she couldn't wait any longer. She turned without another word, and raced to the back of the building.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain listened to the sounds of a battle coming from outside the building with impatience. He wanted to go out and fight whoever this was himself, but he had been told to stay in the courtyard by that Phoebe person. He watched the group of students around him talking and whispering, some worriedly, some confidently, some interested.

He was glad Marian was back in the Kalos region, away from all this. Safe and sound with Chespie.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a door opening on the far side of the courtyard. Turning to look more closely at it, he saw a something green disapear inside as the door swung closed.

 _That couldn't be a student, could it?_ he thought. _But if it is, and it has to be, since all of the Elite Four and Steven are still outside, who is it?_ _Tracy? Luke? Wally? No, I can see all of them from where I'm standing._

Then it hit him. It was Zara. What was she doing, disobeying orders, and going outside when there was a fight going on? She could be hurt or something! _Why does it make any difference to you what she does, or if she is hurt?_ he thought harshly to himself.

 _But what if this was why Lysander told me to keep my guard up..._

That made up his mind. Turning toward the door, he raced after her.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara moved cautiously down the hallway, ducking from one doorway to the next, constantly watching for any signs of movement. She knew the Team Magma members were here somewhere, and she didn't want them to see her if at all possible. The quicker she could get this over with, the better.

Then, from the back doorway, "Miss Courtney, it's open."

"Good. Enter."

"Yes, ma'am."

They were inside, and headed her way. In a rush to find something better to hide behind than a door frame, Zara ducked behind a drink vending machine. She longed to be outside where she could duck into a tree to hide. Anything would be better than this open hallway.

Footsteps, coming closer, then stopping only a few feet away from her. Zara's breath caught in her throat.

"Where do we start looking, ma'am?"

"Storage rooms."

 _It's now or never. Get them out now,_ Zara thought. Drawing Sceptile's pokeball out of her pocket, she tossed it around the vending machine. Sceptile burst out of the pokeball with a growl

"Miss Courtney, look!" the grunt cried. "Isn't that the same Sceptile from before at the space center?"

Zara couldn't see Courtney's face, but because she didn't say anything, she guessed her face was bored as usual.

"Now I don't want to fight you," Zara began from behind the vending machine, "but I will if it comes to that. Just leave, and no one need ever know any of this happened." She hoped her voice wasn't shaking.

"Amusing. Leave. Now," Courtney said. Zara thought she heard a trace of amusment on her words.

"No, you leave. You're the one who doesn't belong here."

Courtney turned to the grunt. "This girl is getting increasingly anoying. Fight her with me."

"Yes ma'am!" And the grunt released a Poochena.

"Camerupt, go," Courtney ordered.

"Alright, you asked for it. Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!"

"Use Shadow Ball!" the grunt ordered.

The Dragon Pulse easily broke through the Shadow Ball, and Sceptile's attack slammed the Poochena against the wall. It collapsed, knocked out.

"Impressive, but just that will never stop me, as you well know," Courtney said rather flatly. "Camerupt, use Earth Power."

Sceptile was struck from below by the Ground type attack, and tiles on the floor were left cracked and broken from the move.

"Leaf Blade!" Zara cried.

"Eruption!" Courtney shouted.

Sceptile dodged around the Eruption and sliced Camerupt with its leaves.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

"Why are you still trying to stop us? What did we do to you? Oh, wait, that's right, your parents. When will you get it that we of Team Magma didn't cause that. Camerupt, Rock Slide!" Courtney ordered.

"Be quiet," Zara said, her courage starting to waver. "Whatever your going to say, I don't want to hear it."

"Why not? It's the truth, isn't it?"

Sceptile threw its head back and released a Dragon Pulse straight at Camerupt. Camerupt roared and stamped it's feet just before the attack connected, and it fainted when the Dragon Pulse struck.

"Not. Again. You. Insolent. Pest!" Courtney exploded. "I wish I had been the one who hurt you in your miserable past, since I can't seen to do it now! Grunt, let's go."

Then the Rock Slide attack started to fall. Sceptile dodged around most of the rocks. Courtney recalled her Pokemon, and the two Team members raced for the door, their heads covered by their arms. Zara watched them untill they were outside then returned Sceptile to its pokeball. But the Rock Slide was still falling, as were some pieces of the ceiling.

 _Shouldn't that be over by now?_ Zara thought absentmindedly, wondering when she would have to clean up the mess so Steven wouldn't find out about her disobeying his orders. She was considering leaving to follow Courtney and make sure she had left, when chunk of the ceiling fell on the vending machine beside her, and crushed it like a tin can.

That brought her back to reality. She sceamed, and turned to run, just as a huge chunk of rock fell straight at her head. She ducked and covered her head with her arms, waiting for the impact.

But it never came. After several moments, the sound of the Rock Slide died out and silence reigned in the hall. Zara slowly uncovered her head, shaking a few pieces of rock off of herself, and looked up.

Standing in the hall just a few feet from her were Charizard and Alain. Charizard's claws, she noticed, were fading from green to their normal white colour.

"Are you alright?" Alain asked, his face and voice unreadable as usual.

Zara felt relief spread through her. "I'm fine," she responded. "How did you know where I was?"

That when she realized she had no idea how long he had been standing there. "Just how much of that did you overhear?" she asked.

Now his face showed slight surprise, but only for a second. "From when you told them to leave."

Zara's stomach knotted, and suddenly she felt sick. Pushing past him, she raced down the hall as fast as she could, and didn't stop untill she was in one of the classrooms with the door shut tight behind her.

 _First Team Magma strikes, then I almost get flattened by a giant rock, and now Alain has heard Courtney talking about my past. That was exactly why I told Wally to stay behind. At least he wasn't the one who followed me. But what do I tell Alain about what he heard? I promised myself no one would ever know the truth._

Zara let her head fall back against the wall as tears slipped down her cheeks. Could this day get any worse?

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain stood in the hall, staring after Zara. Why had she run off? All he asked was if she was alright, and yet she acted like he had asked some deadly question. And more importiantly, who were those people, and what were they talking about, hurting Zara in her past? And why did it matter that he had overheard her conversation?

He returned Charizard to its pokeball, and turned to go back out to the courtyard, when something shiny caught his eye. Looking down at the place where Zara had been crouching, he spotted a ring lying amongst the rubble from the ceiling.

 _Zara must have lost it,_ he thought as he picked it up. It was just an ordinary silver band, set with a green stone, with two _S_ -shaped symbols on either side of the stone.

He looked up in the direction she had run in, but decided against following her. He had no idea where she had run off to. _I'll see her later, and I'll give it back to her then_ , he thought.

But he didn't see her. He fought his non-verbal battle, against Mary and her Mega Mawille, and won, but Zara wasn't there. He watched several of the other battles, and practiced battling silently with Astrid, but Zara was nowhere to be seen. He was dragged to the cafeteria for supper by an estatic Jacklyn, much to Astrid's amusement, but even then, he still couldn't find Zara. He even asked Wally where she was, but he hadn't seen her either.

It wasn't untill he climbed up onto the roof that night that he found her. She was curled up next to Sceptile, looking out at the forest and talking to her Pokemon quietly.

He took a step forward, and she turned to look at him. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. Strange, she seemed perfectly calm and relaxed, nothing like how she had been just a few hours before.

Alain crossed the roof and sat down beside her, releacing Charizard from its pokeball, just like he'd done every other night he'd come up here. After a long moment of silence, he asked, "Are you sure your alright?"

Zara smiled and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine, just scratches and bruses, thanks to you and Charizard. I never really got to thank you properly for saving me."

"It's fine." He pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it out to her. "You dropped this in the hall earlier."

Zara took one look at the ring, and her eyes widened. Her right hand flew to her chest, clutching frantically at the fabric of her shirt. After a moment, she lowered her hand and extended it toward Alain. Alain dropped the ring into her hand and her fingers closed quickly around it and she clutched it to her chest.

"Thank you," she choked out. Alain looked up and saw tears running down her face. Puzzled, he rose and started to go, intending to leave her alone, and not wanting to have to deal with whatever had caused her to cry.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile said firmly, looking first at Zara, then at Alain. Charizard raised its head and growled at Alain. Alain stopped walking away and looked at his Pokemon.

Zara let out a shaky sigh, and keeping her eyes lowered, said slowly, "Thank you for saving me from that rock earlier. I guess your wondering about what was said back there. And why I ran off. And why I'm crying." And she sniffed.

Alain turned back to her. "Yeah."

Zara swallowed hard, and Sceptile nugged her shoulder to encourage her to go on. "If I tell you, you have to promise you won't tell anyone about it, ever."

Alain watched her, unsure if he really wanted to know or not.

Zara suddenly raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. "You promise?" The plea in her eyes told him how important this was to her, and the intensity surprised him.

 _This must be something she's kept back for a while_. "I promise," he said firmly.

Zara took a deep breath. "You may want to sit down, this could take a while." Alain sat down in front of Charizard, and the Flame Pokemon curled up behind him. "Well, I guess it all started about eight years ago, at my house just outside of Fourtree. I lived with my parents, and they ran a Pokemon Daycare Center there."

She took another deep breath, and pressed on, "My parents were scientists, in their own right, and did studies on some of our Pokemon in there spare time. They never told me what they were studying though, and I never asked, always found playing with the Pokemon more interesting. I remember there being a lot of green rocks in the house at some point in here, so I suppose the research had to do with that. But what ever it was about, word got out, and it attracted the attention of some notable scientific group," and she drew air quotes when she said "notable scientific group". "This group came over to the house one day and asked if they could buy a large supply of what my parents were researching. Said something about using them to improve life in a city, or something like that."

Alain arched an eyebrow at her.

"Hey, this was eight years ago, and I was in my room listening to their conversation through the air vent, since I wasn't alowed to be out there when people came to discuss business matters," Zara spoke up defensively, "Anyway, my parents agreed, and started looking for more of these rocks they were studying. That went on for a year. Then the notable scientific people came back asking for their rocks. My parents got into an argument with them, I still don't know why, but there was a lot of shouting involved. After that, these people left, and didn't come back for about three months. I didn't think too much about them during that time. Life went back to normal, my parents cleared all the rocks out of our house, and I forgot all about it."

Zara swallowed hard. "Then one day, about two weeks after my tenth birthday, my dad rushed into the house and started talking quietly with my mom. I remember they seemed really worried about something. Then my dad started grabbing things out of our living room, things like picture frames, toys, and books, and shoving them into cabinets, drawers, closets, you name it. But my mom just stood there stock still for the longest time. When she did finally start moving, she called me over to her and told me to take my Treecko, which I'd just gotten, and go check the Pokemon out at the lake. Now the lake was all the way on the other side of our property, and I knew she was just trying to get me out of the way, but she looked so worried that I went anyway. But before I could get out the door, she called me back and gave me this." And Zara held up the ring. "All she told me was 'Keep it safe for me,' and then the next thing I knew I was out the door, headed for the lake as fast as I could run with Treecko on my shoulder."

"I don't know how long I stayed at the lake, but when I got back, several people dressed all in red were standing outside our house. I knew they were the notable scientific people, even though I'd never seem them before, because my dad was in the doorway, shouting at them. He slammed the door in their faces, I remember that because he never slammed doors."

"The people stood around in our yard for several minutes. One of them seemed to be addressing the others. She, I think it was a she considering what she was wearing, stood at the head of the group. She was dressed all in red, had short purple hair, and glasses. She said something to the others, and they all left. I'd been hiding in some bushes during the whole time they were there, but I came out now because I thought it was safe."

Alain watched as Zara's eyes screwed shut, and tears leaked out of them. "I was wrong." she choked out, "I took two steps from my hiding place, and the house blew up. Yes, just exploded before my eyes, no warning signs, no nothing. After that I don't remember much. I remember diving back into the bushes with Treecko, and I remember getting up and seeing nothing but a smoking crater where the house used to be."

"After that I hid in the woods around our property for three years, hoping those people wouldn't come back for me, and hoping that somehow my parents had survived the explosion and were out there in the forest looking for me. I lived with the Pokemon that lived around there and they took care of me, and taught me some of their skills. You saw me catch all those things down in the cafeteria. A Meditite taught me how to do that coordination stuff, and how to throw punches. And the climbing trees thing Steven was talking about the first day, I learned that from a group a Nuzleaf. And some Marill taught me how to swim."

She looked up at him. "After those three years, I decided it was safe to leave the forest. These people had had three years to try and find me, and I hadn't seen them since that day. Not to mention, these people had never seen me before, and I didn't even know for sure if they knew I exsisted. So, I came out of hiding and decided to go on a journey with Treecko, which by now had evolved into Grovyle. I traveled for a few months, battling other trainers, chalenging gyms, everything I would have done three years earlier if my parents had still been there."

"I probably would have been able to put the incident in my past for good, if I hadn't run into Team Magma. You saw them for yourself today, so you know what they look like."

 _Just like how she decribed the "notable scientific people", dressed all in red,_ Alain realized.

Zara sighed heavily. "The first time I saw them was in Slateport City, which is due south of here. It was just a group of grunts stealing some parts from a wealthy shipyard owner, but it scared the daylights out of me. I thought for sure they were after _me._ I ran away from there as fast as I could, and didn't stop till I was halfway across the city. I considered running all the way back to my forest and spending a few more years in hiding. I didn't, but I wanted to. After that day, I had my guard everywhere I went. I never slept without at least one Pokemon out of its pokeball on watch, and I never went into a city without asking someone nearby it if there had been trouble going on lately."

"Life went on like that for a while. Then came the day I met Courtney. I was on my way to Lilycove, which is on the eastern side of the Hoenn Region, near the ocean, and I met her on my way. I knew it was her as soon as I saw her, she was the one in command of those grunts, and she had caused my house to explode with my parents inside. I challenged her to a battle as soon as I could get my hand around a pokeball. We fought, and during the battle I told her that I knew she had killed my parents. Not the smartest decision, but I told her anyway. I had to know why she killed them."

"Why?" Alain asked.

Zara looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Why, what?"

"Why did you want to know why she killed your parents? Why not just fight her and be done with her for good?"

Zara's eyes flashed with concern. "You think I wanted to get even with her?"

"Why else would you battle her?"

"I didn't want revenge," Zara said, "I wanted to understand. Revenge wouldn't have made things any better for anyone, myself included. Just would have made me feel guilty for hurting someone else, and probably even more scared that Team Magma would be after me. And I battled her to stall her, and so I would have a Pokemon between me and her while we talked."

Alain stared at her in confusion. That didn't make any sense to him. If it had been him, he would have battled her untill she was on her knees begging for mercy. That sounded like what she deserved.

"She didn't tell me though. In fact, she laughed at me and told me she had no idea what I was talking about. I beat her right after she said that, and she left before I could get any more out of her. I know it was her though. Either she doesn't remember the mission I asked about, or she's lying."

"Ever since then, every time I see Team Magma, I do everything I can to to stop them, but I make sure I never show my face. I want their organization and everything it stands for to be destroyed before they do to anyone else what they did to me. But," and here she looked pointedly at Alain, "I don't want to hurt the people. They can still change." Quietly, she added, "I think."

Zara leaned back against Sceptile, and her Pokemon rubbed its head affectionatly against her. "I didn't say when I met Steven. It was actually just a few miles from here, and that was before all this Courtney mess. I challenged the Elite Four about six months after I ran into him, two years ago, and I beat all four of the Elites, but I lost to Steven. He offered to take me on as his student and I've been here learning from him ever since. At the time I only agreed to be his student because I knew I would be safe if I was around the Champion, but now I really want to beat him and become Champion myself."

After a pause she finished with, "I think that's everything. Anything I didn't answer?"

Alain thought for a moment before asking, "Does Steven know about all this?"

Zara hesitated before answering. "No, he doesn't, and I don't want him to."

"Why not?" _Don't you have to tell him? What would he say if he found out the truth?_ Alain thought, and images of Lysander finding out he had been lied to flashed in his mind. None of them were pleasant.

"Ever since that day outside of Fourtree, I've tried to put all that in my past. I don't want anyone to know about it, because they'll just bring it up and try to have me talk about it. I don't want to talk about it, I want to forget it. I want to start over. I want my past to not exist." Her voice broke as she said the next words. "I want all the worry, and all the fear, and all the pain not to exist. But they do. So I just try to put it all as far away from me as possible and go on with life."

Alain suddenly realized what that meant. It meant she was showing him a side of herself that she never showed anyone else. Ever. The side of herself that was open and exposed. The side of herself that held her greatest fear. Suddenly he felt a stab of pity for her, and wanted to say something to comfort her, though he had no idea what that would be.

Then another question surfaced in his mind. "Why are you telling me this, if you won't tell Steven?"

Zara hesitated again. Finally, she answered, "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it's because I think I owe you the truth, since you did save my life and all. Or maybe it's because I'm tired of trying to keep it a secret and it won't matter if I tell you since after this two weeks is up, Hoenn will probably never see you again, much less me. Or maybe I think you would have figured it out anyway, and I'd rather tell you myself than have you digging around in my past."

Alain shiffted his position so he could stand up more easily. _So she's only telling me this either because she needed someone to talk to, and I'm the only one availble, or she thinks she owes me something and is just trying to pay off a debt. Maybe I should leave her alone now._ He rose and reached into his pocket for Charizard's pokeball, but before he he could have even said "return", Zara went on:

"Or maybe it's because I trust you."

Alain stopped with the pokeball halfway out of his pocket.

When he didn't say anything, Zara went on, "I mean, you were the only one who jumped in to save Wally, and you did save me from a giant falling rock, and you brought my ring back, so that's got to count for something, right? Most people wouldn't have done all those things, especially without bragging about it at all. I guess I think that's trustworthy."

Now Alain really felt like he ought to say something to comfort her, but nothing came to mind. He honestly wasn't sure what to do. Silence fell over the two of them for several moments.

"Well," Zara said, breaking the silence, "I guess that's everything I was going to say. I'd prefer if you just forgot about this conversation completely. Now to get things back to normal, what should we do?" And she wiped the tears from her cheeks, and put on an almost completely casual face.

Alain sat back down slowly. He knew what he wanted to do, he wanted to hear her sing again, but he wasn't sure he should ask. He'd been fighting with himself about this ever since last time, and he didn't want to get attached to Zara in any way, but at the same time, he really wanted to hear her again. _And you want that content feeling to come back too,_ his mind told him, but he pushed that thought aside.

"You could sing again, if you want," he said, not looking her in the eye.

Zara looked a little taken aback, but Sceptile gave a happy cry and started nosing Zara's pockets. "Alright Sceptile, alright, I get it, I'll do it, I'll do it." She drew her pitchpipe, _her dead father's pitchpipe,_ Alain thought, out of her pocket, and after fingering it for a moment, blew two notes on it.

Then she started to sing.

The sound of her voice, and Sceptile's, washed over him. He leaned back against Charizard and closed his eyes. As he listened, all the thoughts he'd been having of Marian and Chespie, of Lysander, of his goals to become the strongest, and of not being able to protect the people he cared about, stopped bothering him. Just for those few minutes he forgot about everything else, and for the first time in a long time, he felt at peace.

The song didn't last nearly long enough. When Zara finished, the four of them sat in silence. Alain watched the forest for a while, not wanting to break the trance that had fallen over them. Finally, he stood up, and reached out to put a hand on Zara's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me."

Zara looked up quickly, and then smiled an almost cheerful smile. Alain turned and recalled Charizard, then went to the fire escape and climbed down. He went to his room, showered, and lay down in his bed. It was a long time before he fell asleep, and it wasn't because of Gordon's snoring. He couldn't stop the thoughts that rolled through his mind, or the feeling of pity that he felt for Zara. At last, sleep claimed him.

Maybe tomorrow would be less complicated.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara sat staring at the place on the roof where Alain had been sitting. She hadn't been sure if Alain had really cared about what she was saying untill just a moment ago. But when he had put his hand on her shoulder, well, she couldn't really describe it, but she had felt that he truly did care, and maybe he even understood. He seemed to be passionate about his goals, and uninterested in everything else all the time, but maybe there was something else to him that, like her, he always kept hidden. Maybe there was more to him that the cold exterior he always showed everyone. Maybe he was a good person to have as a friend.

 _Only time will tell,_ she thought.

She returned Sceptile to its pokeball, and went to the place on the roof directly above her window. Gripping the edge of the metal roof she swung over and through the open window below. Shutting it behind her, she lay down to get some sleep. It had been a long day.

Perhaps tomorrow would be less eventful.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **OK everyone, I really want to apologize for the long update on this, but as you can see it is very long, and I've beenrather sickly lately, so please don't think that this is going to become a habit.**

 **Please review! :) Because seriously, I've gotten only two reviews for this story total. :\**


	7. Of Pillars and Holes

Day 6: Of Pillars and Holes

A new day, new challenges, new battles, and...the same old scenario at breakfast. Alain was, once again, sitting next to Jacklyn against his will. To be honest, though, he didn't feel like protesting today. He had slept poorly last night, and was consequently feeling tired and very frustrated.

Even though Zara had asked him to forget about the conversation from last night, he couldn't stop thinking about what she had said. About not wanting to hurt the people who had killed her parents, about not telling Steven the truth, and most of all, about saying she trusted him, if that was why she had told him.

"Hey, you don't look so good this morning," Astrid observed from aross the table, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Come on, what's on your mind? You can tell us!" Jacklyn prompted. Alain just turned away from her. "Please," she went on, "Maybe it has something to do with me? Like you want to tell me something?" Across the table, Astrid started having a coughing fit. Alain glared at her. Whatever she found so funny, he didn't appreciate her display of amusement. He turned his attention back to his breakfast, and took a gulp of orange juice.

Jacklyn didn't seem to notice Astrid's coughing or Alain's glare, just kept right on leaning on Alain like she normally did. "So what do you want to do this evening, Astrid?" she asked. "We could see if Brittney wants to play truth or dare with all of us. And she could bring Gordon with her too!"

Alain slammed his glass back down, nearly choking on the liquid he'd been about to swallow. When he could breath again, turned his glare on Jacklyn with an intensity that normally scared everyone else away.

Astrid, by now, was past trying to hide her laughter. There were tears in her eyes as she looked back up at Alain and Jacklyn, she was laughing so hard. "That sounds like a great idea, Jacklyn," she said in mocking tones, "why don't we ask Brittney right now while she's still there with Gordon." And, still laughing, she rose and walked toward Brittney's table. Jacklyn rose to follow her, but as she walked past Alain, she trailed her hand across his back where his sholder blades met. Alain jerked involuntarily when she did it, and he whirled to confront her, but she was already almost at Brittney's table. She winked at him and turned to her friend.

Alain looked back at his breakfast. Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on what new challenges the Elite Four would have in store for today, but he couldn't forget about Astrid's laughter. The sound seemed to echo in his head.

He felt someone tap his shoulder, and he looked up. Zara stood next to his chair, giving him that same almost casual look from last night. "You sleep okay last night?" she asked as soon as she saw his face.

"Fine, I suppose," he replied.

"Well, I wanted to thank you for listening to me talk my head off."

"You keep thanking me for everything."

"I know, but if you're grateful, what else do you do to show it?"

From across the room, Jacklyn and Brittney laughed loudly. Alain put his head in his hand and growled to himself.

"You know, now that I think about it, maybe there is something else I can do to thank you." Zara said thoughtfully. "I'll see you later."

She walked off toward the table where Steven and the Elite Four, minus Glacia, were sitting, and started talking to Phoebe and gesturing toward the door that led out to the courtyard. Phoebe stood up soon after Zara finished talking and announced, "If I may have your attention please, we are ready to begin today's challenge. Please finish up and head out to the courtyard."

There was a loud clatter of plates, forks, and cups as everybody moved to deposit their dishes in the wash bins and go outside. Alain tried to keep his head down and wait untill Jacklyn was outside already, but she found him anyway, and stuck to him like a magnet. He half walked, half was dragged out the door. But when they got outside, what stood on the battle field made Jacklyn drop her arm from his. He got away, then took in the sight.

On the battle field were mounds, no, not mounds, pillars of dirt set seemingly randomly between the trainer's boxes. Where there were no pillars, holes were dug in the battle field.

The one thing that wasn't out in the courtyard, was Glacia.

The students began to spread out and look for the missing Elite Four member. Phoebe, Sydney, Drake, and Steven, however, moved to the side of the field and just watched the students' confusion.

 _So they know where she is, since they're not looking for her,_ Alain thought. _She's hiding on purpose. But where?_

"All of you would have lost by now, if we were battling," a voice called from above. Alain looked up, and perched on top of the centermost pillar, was Glacia, her Glalie levitating beside her. "None of you would have even noticed me if I hadn't said something. If I had ordered my Glalie to attack you, you wouldn't have had time to dodge the attack." She stepped onto her Glalie, and the Ice type brought her to the ground. "This is the strategy I have planned to teach you today: how to use your surroundings to your advantage. Clearly all of you could use a lesson or two on this topic."

 _A few more seconds and I would have found her,_ Alain thought irritably, as he moved off to one side of the field with the other students.

"As you all can see, we have covered the battle field in variety of obstacles. These can often hinder the average battler, but what many trainers don't realize is that they can be use to give them the advantage in any battle. As I have just demonstrated, hiding from your opponents is one use for this uneven playing field. I want to see how you will use it. Today you will battle on this field behind me, and the first two trainers to battle will be..." and Galcia glanced at Phoebe, who handed her a clipboard, "...Penny and Alex."

The two named trainers stepped up to opposite sides of the battle field.

Phoebe stepped up to the side of the field to referee. "All rules from the first day apply here. Do you both remeber them?"

Both trainers nodded.

"Then battle begin!"

Penny sent out her Lopunny and Alex sent out his Swampert. Alex ordered a Muddy Water, and Penny ordered Lopunny up onto the pillars to dodge it.

"Hey." someone said from behind Alain. It was Zara. "Have you seen Wally?"

Alain shook his head.

"Well, I suppose he can find me if he needs me. Mind if I say here?"

"I don't."

"You sure you slept well last night?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you look like you don't feel well, and no one else is going to ask you."

"What's wrong with no one asking me?"

Zara didn't answer for a moment. She stared at the ground when she answered, "You must really like being alone all the time."

Alain wasn't sure how to answer that. He really didn't like being alone all the time, but he had to be, in order to become stronger and keep the people he cared about safe. If he had to choose between being alone and keeping those people safe, and being with them and they being at risk, he knew which one he would choose. Exactly what he had chosen. But she would never understand all that.

"So...what do you think of Glacia's challenge?" Zara began again.

Alain looked back at the battle, to see Lopunny searching for Swampert in the now muddy water filled holes. "It's a challenge for sure," he answered slowly.

"Can't wait to try it out," Zara said.

There was an explosion, and Alain looked back at the battle field to see Lopunny lying on the field, knocked out.

"Lopunny is unable to battle, so Swampert is the winner. Therefore, the match goes to Alex!" Phoebe announced.

"Excellent job there, Alex," Glacia praised, "that was very clever filling the holes with water to hide your Pokemon in." Alex grinned. Turning back to the rest of the students, Glacia said, "The next pair of trainers will be Luke and Alain."

Alain stepped forward to the battle field. "I assume both of you remeber the rules from before," Phoebe asked. Both trainers gave their affirmation. "Then battle begin!"

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted.

"Pidgeot, stand by for battle!" Luke cried.

The two Pokemon burst out of their pokeballs, with loud cries.

"Pidgeot, Mega Evolve!" Luke said, touching his keystone in a leather bracelet on his right wrist.

"Charizard, Mega Evolve!" Alain cried, touching his keystone and throwing his fist into the air.

"Pidgeot, into the air!" Luke ordered.

"Into the air Charizard, and use Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

Pidgeot dodged the Flamethrower.

"Now, Air Cutter," Luke commanded.

Pidgeot launched its Air Cutter straight at Charizard.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted.

Charizard broke through the Air Cutter, and flew straight for Pidgeot.

"Fly behind the pillars!" Luke ordered.

Pidgeot dove behind the nearest pillar, and Charizard's Dragon Claw connected with dirt instead of the Normal and Flying type.

"Now Quick Attack!" Luke shouted.

Pidgeot shot out from behind the pillar and slammed into Charizard. Charizard roared, and Alain's face hardened.

"Now Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it! Fly behind a pillar!"

Pidgeot dove behind another pillar, and sucessfully dodged the Flamethrower.

"Now start flying between the pillars. This is just another Pokeringer contest, but without the ring!" Luke told his Pokemon.

"After it Charizard!" Alain ordered.

Pidgeot took off up and down the field, and Charizard fell into hot pursuit. But Pidgoet was just too quick and nimble. Every time Charizard closed in for an attack, it would duck or dive around a pillar, changing its direction and leaving Charizard too far behind to strike it.

"Now use Air Cutter!"

Pidgeot looped all the way around a pillar and struck Charizard from behind. Charizard tumbled back from the blow, and slammed into the pillar Pidgeot had just looped around, causing the top of the pillar to crumble.

"Now fly away, before they can land a hit!" Luke ordered.

"Don't follow it, Charizard!" Alain commanded. Seeing that pillar break had given him an idea. "Fly up above the pillars!"

"What? Where are they going? Stay on your guard Pidgeot!" Luke said.

Charizard spread its wings and launched itself up above the tops of the pillars. Pidgeot stayed below, still ducking between the pillars, never slowing or stopping, but constantly glancing up at Charizard. As it continued to pay more and more attention to Charizard and not to how it was flying, Alain noted it was starting to fall into a pattern.

"Now Charizard, use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

Charizard went into a dive, its claws starting to glow green, but it didn't dive at Pidgeot. It dove at one of the largest pillars, broke it into large pieces, and the pieces crashed down on Pidgeot. The Bird Pokemon cried out and plummeted, landing on its back, pinned to the ground by the dirt and rocks.

"Flamethrower!"

Charizard slammed Pidgeot with a Flamethrower, but even the force of that move didn't free the Flying type.

"Pidgeot, you've got to get up!" Luke shouted.

"Now, finish this with Blast Burn!" Alain cried.

Charizard landed and punched the ground with a fiery claw. The Blast Burn attack closed in on the still trapped Pidgeot, and exploded beneath it, sending it and several of the surrounding pillars flying. Smoke covered the battle field, and when it cleared, Pidgeot lay in front of Luke, knocked out.

"Pidgeot is unable to battle, so Charizard is the winner. Therefore the match goes to Alain!" Phoebe announced.

"Excellent Alain. Using your opponent's advantage against them to win is a clever tactic indeed," Glacia praised.

"Indeed it is."

Alain knew that voice! He whirled around to look for its owner in the crowd, though he hadn't the faintest clue why he would be here.

Then he saw him. At the back of the crowd, next to Steven, stood none other than Lysander himself. The tall man walked forward from his place next to the wall of the courtyard, and came to stand at the front of the group.

"Lysander!" he exclaimed.

"That was an impressive victory, Alain. I see you are benefiting from the Elite Four's teaching."

Steven stepped up to Galcia, and whispered something to her. She gave him a quick nod and called the next pair of trainers up to battle.

Alain recalled Charizard and walked toward the door of the courtyard after Lysander. "So, do you believe you are learning from this school?" Lysander asked him.

"Yes, sir."

"And you have won every battle you have fought thus far?"

"Every battle, sir. There was one training exercise that no one won."

A pause. "And why did you not win?"

The two had walked into the halls, and were headed toward the back of the building.

"There was another trainer who intercepted me before I could reach the goal. She prevented me from winning, but I also prevented her from winning in the same way."

"Facinating. And who is this other trainer?"

"She's-"

At this point, Alain had just come up to the corner of the hall, and as he rounded it, he ran smack into Zara. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, but when he did, he stepped back from her. Taking in the sight before him, he noticed Wally was with her.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" she cried.

"-right here." Alain said, finishing his sentence.

"Hi," Wally said, giving him a small wave.

"So this is you friend, Alain?" Lysander asked, stepping around the corner to get a better view of the blonde trainer.

"Huh?" Alain said, his attention snapping back to Lysander's face. _Friend? Is she? No, she isn't._ But the conversation from the night before came flooding back into his mind.

"Hello, sir," Zara said politely.

"Hello to you as well, Miss-" Lysander began.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Zara, Champion Steven's assistant."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Zara. I assume you are a student here as well?"

"That's right. I'm learning from the Elite Four, too." After a slight hesitation, she went on, "Um, may I ask who you are?"

"Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lysander, owner of Lysander Labs, located in the Kalos Region."

"Lysander?" Zara said with a puzzled look on her face. "Oh, so your the person Steven went to see in the Kalos Region a few months ago! He's talked about you often. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lysander."

"Pleased to make yours as well. Do you study under the Champion?"

"I do, have for the last two years."

"Alain tells me your are a skilled trainer."

Zara glanced over at him quickly, worry flashing on her face, but she quickly suppressed it. "Well, I try, but I don't know if 'skilled' describes me yet," she said, giving Lysander a smile.

"Zara!" Alain glanced over his shoulder to see Steven striding their way. "You are needed out on the field. Glacia wants you. What were you doing in here?" Turning to Lysander he said, "Please, forgive me for interrupting your conversation."

"It's fine," Lysander replied.

"Sorry, Champion, I was trying to find my friend here," Zara answered, gesturing to Wally. Wally scooted further behind Zara. _What's he hiding from? Lysander?_ Alain wondered.

"Well please go out and help her repair the battle field. That Blast Burn of Alain's Charizard left it in quite a state of disrepair," and Steven smiled.

"Alright, I'm going. Coming Wally?"

"Y-yes," Wally answered hastily, sticking to Zara like glue. "Is Al-l-lain c-c-c-coming?"

Zara looked at him expectantly. "Later," Alain said. _Why did you say that? Don't you know that your helping Lysander always comes first? You sound like you actually want to go out with them,_ but as he thought this, he thought of Zara crying last night, and dropped his gaze to the floor. Then and there he made up his mind. _Zara's right. After these two weeks are up, we'll probably never see each other again. She's had a rough life. I can be nice to her for another week or so._ He looked back up at Zara's retreating form. _She trusts me. I should at least try to live up to that._

"See you later!" Zara called over her shoulder as she went out the door.

"So that is your student?" Lysander asked Steven.

"Yes, she's one of the best trainer's I've ever seen. It won't be too much longer and she'll be able to beat me and claim the Champion's title for herself." Steven smiled fondly. "But in the meanwhile, she works as hard as ever."

"Where does she come from?"

"Well, that's a bit of a mystery. She tells me she lives outside of Fourtree City, but she's never shown me a house before. She says her parents aren't there, but are traveling in another region. But I've never seen them, and she can't tell me exactly where they are. And she says they just left her behind."

Alain shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

"Interesting. And how long have her parents been gone?" Lysander went on.

"According to her, almost eight years."

"And she has no idea what happened to them?"

"If she does, she hasn't let me in on it."

"Sir, if I may," Alain interupted, "I'd like to speak with you."

"Of course, Alain. Please excuse us, Champion."

"Sure." And Steven went back out to the courtyard.

Lysander opened the door to the nearest classroom and stepped in. Alain followed him. "So Alain, what did you want to speak to me about?" the tall man asked.

"How are the experiments with Z2 going?"

"They are going well. Xeosic has almost completed his experiments with the Mega Evolution energy, and we will soon be able to harness the full power of Z2."

"And Z1?"

"It is still evading us. But we will capture it soon, I believe."

"And...how are Mairin and Chespin?"

Lysander's face hardened. He waited a moment before answering, "Chespin seems to be closer to awakening. Mairin stays with it always."

Relief spread through Alain. So Chespin would be better soon, and then he could go back and apologize to Mairin for what he had said to her. He just had to keep fighting a little while longer. "Thank you, sir. That was all I wanted to know."

Lysander's face was still hard as he gave his reply. "Very well. Go and watch the other trainers battle."

"Yes, sir." Alain left the room and walked out to the courtyard.

Outside, Dave and Maxcine were battling, with Salamance flying high above the pillars, and Steelix burrowing underground. Alain scanned the crowd for a moment before spotting Zara and Wally. He walked over to them and gave Zara a nod of acknowledgement. She came closer and said loudly, over the noise of the battle. "So, that's Lysander?"

"Yes."

"He seems...impressive."

"He is."

"So how do you know him?"

"He gave me my Mega Stone and Keystone."

"So he's your teacher, of sorts?"

"No. He's my boss."

Zara turned sharply to look at him. Her eyes glinted with uncertainty. "He's your what?"

"My boss," Alain repeated.

"So you work for him?"

"Yes."

"What kind of work do you do for him?"

Alain hesitated to answer. "It's really none of your buisness." _If I tell her, she could very well be hurt. Just like the professor._

"Come on." Zara said, and dropping her voice to a murmur, added, "I told you all about myself last night and you won't tell me anything about yourself?"

"I carry out jobs he has for me from time to time."

"Oh. So he signed you up for this seminar?"

"Yes. He wanted me to train here. Said it would help me get stronger."

An explosion interrupted their conversation. Looking back at the battle field, Alain saw Steelix had fainted. Glacia called the next pair of trainers, Sylvester and another trainer named Flash, who owned a Mega Ampharos.

"Why do you want to get stronger?" Zara asked suddenly.

Alain gave her a confused look. "Don't you want to get stronger?"

"Yes, but with you it seems like that's all you want. Look, I don't know a single person on this planet who does something without some sort of reason, but you don't seem to have a reason for getting stronger. You don't want to challenge a league, you don't have a rival you want to defeat, you don't have a reason, as far as I can tell."

 _I do have a reason, but it's none of your buisness,_ Alain thought. He just shrugged.

"Hm," was all Zara said. She turned her attention back to the battle. Alain turned back to the battle as well, just in time to see Mega Sableye hit Mega Ampharos with a Foul Play.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Zara watched Sableye and Amphoros battle, but her mind wasn't on the Pokemon's fight. She had thought from the start that Steven was right about Lysander, that he sounded suspicious and possibly up to no good, but meeting him in person had ground the idea even more firmly into her head. He looked the part that Steven had described; tall and intimidating, cold and nearly emotionless. But what was he doing here?

Another thing was bothering her too. Alain had to have a reason for getting stronger, but why wouldn't he tell her what it was? There had to be a reason for that, too. And what were these "jobs" that Alain did for his...his boss? Zara shook her head slightly to clear it of that thought. Something about how Alain had said it, that Lysander was his boss, didn't sit right with her, but she couldn't explain why. She quickly shrugged it off, thinking that it must be that she didn't like calling Steven her boss.

 _I'll get to the botton of this. Maybe Alain would be more willing to talk if we weren't surrounded by other people. Or maybe he doesn't want to talk about it at all. I don't know, but I do know one thing: I'm not giving up on him, not yet anyway. If anyone in the world deserves for me to give them a chance trusting them with my secrets, it's him. After all, I owe him my life._

"Zara, Glacia's calling you."

Zara pulled herself from her thoughts to see who had spoken. It was Wally. He was tugging on her shirt sleeve, and looking anxiously from her to Glacia and back again. She stepped out of the crowd and up to the battle field. Across the field, Tracy stepped into the other trainer's box. _So I get to fight at a double disadvantage today,_ she thought. _Great._

"Are you both ready?" Phoebe asked.

"Ready," both trainer's answered.

"Then battle begin!"

"Go Beedrill!"

"Sceptile, at the ready!"

"Beedrill, use Poison Jab!" Tracy commanded immediately.

"Use Detect!" Zara countered.

Sceptile dodged around the attack.

"Now climb the pillars!"

Sceptile scrambled up the nearest pillar and flattened itself against it.

"Go around and get them! Twin Needle!" Tracy ordered.

"Onto the next pillar, Sceptile!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile jumped to the next pillar, and Beedrill's Twin Needle struck dirt.

"Twin Needle again!" Tracy shouted.

"Move again," Zara commanded.

Sceptile jumped to another pillar, and Beedrill's attack once again struck dirt.

Tracy growled in frustration. "Use Toxic!"

"Use Detect!" Sceptile dodged the Poison type move. "Now Dragon Pulse!"

"Dodge it Beedrill!" Tracy shouted. Now it was Beedrill's turn to dodge the attack. It turned quickly midair and darted away.

 _I need to Mega Evolve. That way Sceptile can gain some speed and we can compete with this flying opponent._ "From the depths of my heart, Keystone respond! Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" And Zara touched her keystone. It reacted with Sceptile's Mega Stone, and Sceptile Mega Evolved.

"Guess we'll have to gain some power too," Tracy said. "Beedrill, Mega Evolve!" And she touched her keystone, which was set in her belt buckle. It reacted with Beedrill's Mega Stone, and Beedrill Mega Evolved. When the dust settled, the two Mega Pokemon were left glaring at each other.

"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade on the pillar your on!" Zara commanded. Sceptile did, and rocks and dirt went flying everywhere. Tracy covered her head to protect herself, and Beedrill flew in crazy zigzags in an attempt to dodge all the debirs. When the rain of debris finally stopped, Sceptile was no where to be seen.

At least, you couldn't see it from Tracy's point of view. Zara could see exactly where her Pokemon was. It was hiding behind another pillar. Breaking the first one was only a distraction, something to keep Beedrill's and Tracy's attention off of Sceptile so it could hide without them seeing it. Now they had to find Sceptile, and they had no idea where it was. One false move might put them right in range for a Dragon Pulse. It was all chance.

 _Not a bad strategy, if I do say so myself,_ Zara thought proudly.

"Beedrill, did you see where it went?" Tracy asked.

"Bee? Beedrill," the Poison Bee Pokemon buzzed confusedly.

"Well then, I guess well have to find it. Have a Poison Jab ready and fly through the pillars!" she commanded

Beedrill took off between the pillars, starting on the opposite side from Sceptile. As it zipped though, Zara noticed Tracy constantly glancing over at her.

 _She's watching me to see if I'll give away Sceptile's postion with my eyes. Thanks to Steven, I know better that to do that._ Zara smiled challengingly back at her opponent, the turned back to watching Beedrill. The Bug and Poison type was so close to Sceptile that she could have ordered a Dragon Pulse and hit it at point blank range, but that wasn't her plan.

Beedrill swooped past Sceptile's pillar, but didn't turn around to look at it. Now she could hit it where she wanted to. "Sceptile, use Leaf Blade on its wings!" she ordered. Sceptile leaped from its hiding place, its leaves glowing green, and sliced the attack across Beedrill's wings. Beedrill faltered midflight, them plummeted, crashing on the ground below, and taking a good bit of damage from the impact.

"Beedrill!" Tracy cried.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile let loose with a powerful Dragon Pulse, slamming Beedrill from above. The Poison Bee Pokemon fought against the attack, but couldn't break through it, and was thrown back against the ground. It struggled to rise after the blow.

"Now, rap this up! Use Frenzy Plant!" Zara shouted, throwing one hand into the air.

"Beedrill, get up!" Tracy pleaded. Beedrill rose and flapped its wings weakly. "Now use Fell Stinger!"

Beedrill shot a Fell Stinger at Sceptile so quickly, neither Sceptile or Zara had a chance to react. Sceptile took the Bug type attack full on, and lost its footing on the pillar. It tumbled to the ground, crying out as it fell.

"Now's our chance! Poison Jab!" Tracy ordered.

"Sceptile, use Detect!" Zara commanded.

The two trainers watched as Sceptile scrambled to dodge the attack. Tracy's face went sour as she watched, but Zara smiled confidently. _You can attack all you want, but you can't touch Sceptile when it uses Detect. "_ Now use Frenzy Plant!"

Sceptile slammed it's tail into the nearest pillar, and large plants began to grow out of the ground surrounding it. The plants closed in on Beedrill, and struck it multiple times. Before Sceptile had completely finished the move, Beedrill had collapsed and reverted to its normal state.

"Beedrill is unable to battle, so Sceptile wins. Therefore the match goes to Zara!" Phoebe declared.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain gazed at the battle field in admiration. Zara certianly was strong, winning a battle where she had a double disadvantage, and taking almost no damage in the process. He would have to ask her for a battle sometime.

As soon as Phoebe had declared Zara the winner, Zara ran out onto the field and embraced her Pokemon. Sceptile thumped her on the head as she hugged it, and she returned it to its pokeball and left the field.

Alain watched as the next pair of trainers approched the field. Pair after pair fought, and he watched them all, just like Lysander had said to. It wasn't till the last pair had fought that he left the courtyard and walked into the cafetaria. To his surprise, Lysander was seated at the Elite Four's table.

Alain walked over to him. "Sir."

Lysander looked up at Alain, "Yes, Alain?"

"I thought you were headed back to Kalos, sir."

"I have some buisness to attend to in the Hoenn Region, and the Champion has politely agreed to allow me to stay here untill I return to Kalos."

Alain nodded, and walked away. He went thought the supper line and sat down at an empty table. The hum of activity in the room rang in his ears, as he thought about what Lysander had said earlier. Chespie was almost better. He only had to keep fighting for a little while longer, and then he could go back to Mairin. Hopefully she wouldn't be angry with him for causing Chespie's injuries.

A flash of red caught his eye. He turned his head a fraction and caught Jacklyn's eye. She winked at him and continued to approach his table, Brittney, Tracy, and Astrid following her.

Alain turned back to his food, pretending he hadn't noticed her. He heard the girls voices coming closer. He shifted in his seat, and considered moving to a different place, even though he knew Jacklyn would just follow him. He could hear Jacklyn's footsteps behind him. Someone sat down in the seat to his left.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Alain looked up in surprise. To his amazement, Zara was the one seated next to him instead of Jacklyn. He stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out how she had beat Jacklyn to the chair.

"And just what do you think your doing? That's my chair," Jacklyn said from behind them. Alain turned to her, and opened his mouth to confront her, but Zara started to twist around in her chair in such an odd manner, that he stopped before he had said anything.

Jacklyn raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

Zara looked up at her with a challenge in her eyes. "Looking for your name. And I don't see it."

Brittney gasped at this, and Tracy and Astrid have each other concerned looks.

"Why you little-! How dare you-! Get out of my seat!" Jacklyn nearly yelled.

"Like I said, I don't see your name on it. I was here first, so why don't you go get a different chair? It's not like there aren't plenty of others," Zara replied calmly.

Silence fell in the cafetiria, as all eyes turned to watch the argument.

Jacklyn's face began to redden, but she took a deep breath and ignored Zara's comment. "I would really hate for Alain to have to sit next to someone like you. Such a mess and so annoying. Shame, isn't it? Do you think you could do him a favor and just remove your ugly self from his space?"

"How do you know he thinks I'm annoying? I didn't see you ask him. Wait," and Zara face went wide-eyed, and she smirked, "can you read minds now?"

Jacklyn's face got even redder. "Look, your hardly worth arguing with, your so incompetent. Just move so I don't have to show everyone just how bad off you are."

"Are you sure you've got the right person? Because last I checked, I was the one who just won their battle today at a double disadvantage. Not to brag. But if you want to find someone who's impertinent, uncivil, ungracious, and downright audacious, then I think there's a mirror in your room." Zara rose to bring herself to eye level with Jacklyn. "If I am the person your looking for, I'm sorry for being so incompetent."

Jacklyn didn't respond, but her face had gone redder that a Slugma. All she coud seem to do was splutter at Zara. When she could form actual words again, she glared at Zara and said in a threatening voice, "You'll pay for that. Just you wait." And with that, she turned on her heel and marched to a different table. The girls behind her glanced at her, then at Zara, and followed Jacklyn's lead.

"And that's the end of that," Zara said, sitting back down and resting her chin in her hand.

"What was that about?" Alain asked, completely confused.

"Well, I said I thought of something I could do to help you out. That was it."

"Arguing with Jacklyn?"

"More like, getting her to leave you alone. I've been watching her ever since that conversation this morning, waiting for a chance to do that."

Alain hesitated, then said slowly, "But now she's going to be angry with you, because of me."

"So? I could care less. Whatever she's going to do to me, I'm not worried." When Alain looked away, she went on, "Hey, don't worry about it, please. I think my life is worth a little yelling from that smarty pants," and she smiled.

"If you say so," and Alain turned back to his food.

"Can I ask you something?" Zara said slowly.

"I suppose."

"Will you come up to the roof tonight?"

"Alright. Why?"

"I'll tell you when you get up there. Untill then, I'm going to get some supper. Watch my seat, please?"

Alain smiled another small smile and nodded.

They finished their meal in peace, thanks to Jacklyn staying on the opposite side of the room. When they were done, Zara left to help the Elite Four repair the battle field for tommorow, and Alain went to his room. He rested for a couple of hours before climbing up the fire escape, knowing Zara would be busy for a while.

She was there when he hauled himself over the edge of the roof. So was Sceptile, and, oddly enough, so was a Baynette.

"Hey, thanks for coming up," Zara said as soon as she spotted him.

"Is that your Baynette?" Alain asked.

"Hm? Oh, no, this is Brittney's Baynette. It wanted to come up here with me, and I can't say I blame it."

"Why?"

"Let's just say Brittney's character isn't too far off of Jacklyn's when it comes to her Pokemon. I got it out of a lot of trouble when I gave it that bag it dropped the first day, you remember, right? That, and she's a total slob. Like this morning, when she threw her dirty laundry on my bed after I left because she didn't have anywhere else to put it at the moment, and she forgot to move it when she left." Zara's voice rose into sarcastic tones as she said this. "Sorry, not trying to rant here, but it really does get on my nerves," and she dropped her gaze to the roof.

Alain thought for a moment before answering, "I think peace from Jacklyn is worth listening to little ranting."

Zara looked up at him and smiled a broad smile.

"What did you want me for?" Alain asked, sitting down. He releaced Charizard, and the Fire and Flying type glared at Sceptile before settling behind him.

Zara stared at the roof for a long time before she answered, "Why do you want to get stronger?"

Alain frowned. "I already told you, its none of your buisness."

"But why is it none of my buisness?"

Alain sighed. "It just is. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Just pieces to the puzzle."

"What puzzle?"

Zara smiled and leaned back against Sceptile. "Every person is practically a jigsaw puzzle, and if you want to understand them, you have to put the pieces together." She reached down and rubbed Baynette's head. "That's why I like Pokemon so much better. They are a lot easier to understand, even if they can't talk back to you."

Alain gave her a puzzled look.

"Pokemon usually only do simple things that are necessary for life or survival. They gather food, fight over territory, find friends among the Pokemon nearby. They aren't complicated like people, they just do what they need to, or what they're told if they have a trainer. They don't try and put on false pretences, they don't lie, they don't steal," here she paused a moment and blinked rapidly several times, then said, "and they don't hurt others unless the people threaten them."

Sceptile moved closer to her and rubbed its head gently against her arm. Baynette came closer too, and climbed into her lap to give her a hug. Zara hugged it back and stroked Sceptile's head. "Sorry, I asked you to forget about that, and I'm bringing it up again. I guess I just don't know how it feels to have someone know about it who can acctually talk back with real words. Not sure if I like he feeling or not."

Silence fell for several minutes. Then Zara began again, "So why do you work for Lysander?"

Alain gave her a surprised look. "Because he gave me my Mega Stone and Keystone."

"So he expects you to work him just for a couple of rocks?"

"It's more than that," Alain snapped, "he offered them to me in exchange for my helping him."

"With...what?"

"With gathering Mega Evolution energy."

"Alright, what is he going to do with all the energy?"

"Use it for peaceful purposes."

"Like what?"

"To help improve the quality of life in the world. To further humanity," Alain rattled of all the things Lysandre had told him during his time working for him.

"Yes, but how? Specifically, what is he going to do with it?"

Alain had to think about that. He thought for a long time, but didn't answer. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that Lysander had never told him a specific reason for using the Mega Evolution energy, other than catching Z1 and Z2, and that was hardly furthering humanity. Well, it would heal Chespie, but that wouldn't have happened in the first place if the experiments had never started. _And if I hadn't been so hard on Mairin. I'll have to ask Lysander about that sometime._

Finally, Zara went on, "Never mind. So it's worth working for him to be able to Mega Evolve Charizard? He treats you well, and all?"

"Yes. I'm helping him to protect people dear to me, him included."

"May I ask who these people are?"

Alain hestiated to answer. _Why don't you tell her? She probably won't even know who they are._ "Professor Sycamore, Lysander, and...Mairin." He scowled slightly as he said the last name.

"Mairin? The little girl who came with you the last time you came to the Hoenn Region? The one you left behind when you went back? What was that all about? Steven told me she saved you life when you were faceing the legendary Pokemon, and then you just leave her behind? And now-"

"You don't understand!" Alain shouted angrily.

Zara recoiled at his words. "No, I guess I don't," she said quietly.

"Just don't ask about it. You wouldn't understand." _I know I said I would try to be nice to her, but she's getting too annoying._

Zara looked ready to protest, but instead let the matter drop with, "So, I guess that's all I wanted to ask about."

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"Will you battle me?"

Zara looked at him with a strange expression. "You mean right now?"

"No. Just before the seminar is over."

"Alright, if we don't battle during the competition, then, yes, I'll battle you, I promise."

"Thank you."

They sat staring out at the forests and fields of Hoenn for the next several minutes. Sceptile and Baynette played, and Charizard just lay behind Alain and watched them, occasionally growling at Baynette when it came too close. When the Marionette Pokemon slipped and stumbled onto Charizard's nose, the Flame Pokemon roared at it and sent it flying back toward Sceptile. The Forest Pokemon caught Banynette, then turned angrily to Charizard and growled at it. Charizard just raised its head and gave Sceptile a bored look, then shot a lazy flame to Sceptile's left. Sceptile shied away from the flame and roared angrily. Baynette cowered behind it, glancing nervously out from behind rose to its feet and Sceptile marched forward, and the two glared at each other with maliace in their eyes

"What has gotten into you, Sceptile?" Zara asked as she approched her Pokemon, and tried to draw it away from Charizard. "Look I know you don't like Fire types, but are all these threatening looks and words really necessary?"

"Scep tile tile sceptile!" Sceptile shouted gesturing first at Charizard, then at Baynette.

"Yes, I know Charizard threw Baynette, but, although that wasn't the nicest thing to do, Baynette is fine. Can't you just let it go?"

"Sceptile scep, tile sceptile scep tile tile scep!" Sceptile said, clamping its claws together like it was smashing something, then pointing at Charizard.

"Charizard broke something of yours?" Zara guessed.

"Scep!" And Sceptile leaned forward and opened its mouth like it was dropping something.

"Oh, you're upest that you lost the stat boost challenge because of Charizard?" Zara guessed again.

Sceptile nodded.

"Well, don't be upset. After all, we stopped them from winning too. No offense." Zara adressed the last sentence to Alain. He shrugged in responce.

"Well, I'd probably better go before we have a fight on our hands. And I need to get Baynette back to Brittney before she notices it's missing. I'll see you tommorow." And she returned Sceptile to its pokeball, scooped up Baynette, and walked to the fire escape. "Goodnight!" and then she was gone.

"Goodnight." Alain said quietly to the open air.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara walked down the hall to her and Brittney's room, Baynette following her. She couldn't stop thinking about what had taken place on the roof.

 _Why did he yell at me? Was it something I said? And who leaves a little girl behind when he wants to protect her? That's just wrong._

 _Maybe he yelled at me because he feels bad about it, but doesn't want to admit it. I know that feeling, like yesterday with Wally wanting to come along to face Team Magma. To face Courntey._

 _I hope Alain doesn't let that story slip to anyone. I'd hate for the wrong person to hear it. And here I go, worrying about it again. Look, you told him so he wouldn't find out about it himself, so if he did know, he would be held by his promise to keep it a secret. And he will, I trust that he will._

She opened the door to her room and went in. She showered, cleaned Brittney's things off of her bed, and lay down.

 _I'll put the puzzle together. I know I will. Whether or not Steven still wants me to make friends._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **So, despite the message on the last chapter, I have recieved no more reviews. This can mean one of two things: 1) You all think this story is great and have no criticisms, or 2) You all think the story is terrible, and don't want to hurt my feelings, but can't find a good way to say what your thinking.**

 **So please, please review!**


	8. Facing a Full Team

Day 7: Facing A Full Team

The next morning, Alain rose and went downstairs with a new feeling of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Jacklyn would leave him alone, now that Zara had insulted her so badly in front of everyone. He strode into the cafeteria with a new confidence.

It didn't last long.

As soon as she walked through the door, Jacklyn marched up to his table and sat beside him. She didn't say anything but slid her chair to where it was touching his and moved to rest her head on his shoulder. Alain scooted away and focused his attention on the doorway.

"So you weren't in your room last night," Jacklyn began in a sweet voice "when I came to get you for that truth or dare game we were going to play." She put a hand on his sholder and made circular motions with her fingers, "Where were you?"

"It's none of your concern," Alain replied rather curtly, and moved to the other side of the table.

"But I want to know," Jacklyn pressed, her voice still sweet, rising to follow him.

"It's none of your concern," he repeated, this time angrily.

"Alright, I'll guess. Were you with that ugly, wanna-be Champion?"

Alain turned sharply and stared at her with anger in his gaze. He had to bite back a defense of Zara, but the words threatened to spill out anyway. _I_ _know I said I would try to be nice to her, but where did this feeling of anger at her being insulted come from?_

"Aha! So you were with-"

"Okay Jacklyn, that's enough."

Alain glanced up to see Zara standing directly behind them. _How did she get there without me noticing? Wonder which Pokemon taught her how to walk that quietly._

"You again? Why don't you just go fly a kite. Can't you see I'm talking here?" Jacklyn grumbled.

"Yeah, I can see you talking. And I can see your ignoring what everyone else is saying. Plus, I don't have a kite on hand."

"Maybe I should ignore you too."

"Ignore me if you want, but you ought to listen to Alain. Since you say you care about him having to deal with me, you ought to treat him like you care about what he says."

Jacklyn gave her a rebellious look. "And who are you to tell me what to do, Miss Goody Two Shoes?"

Zara bristled slightly at the name, but quickly regained her calm manner. "Just someone who thinks your a poor excuse for a self-proclaimed 'girlfriend'."

"Go away," Jacklyn said briskly.

"I've got a right to any seat in the place," Zara countered. "Um, so long as it's not occupied already," she amended.

Jacklyn gave her a fierce look, but then her face melted into a crafty smile, and she said in her sweet voice, "Then by all means, sit with us."

Zara eyed warily for several moments. The tension was so thick, Alain wasn't sure he couldn't have cut the air between them with a knife. Just as he was going to say something, there was a crash. All heads turned to see Wally and Brittney picking up broken dishes and spilled food off the floor.

Zara looked between the the mess and Jacklyn a couple of times before narrowing her eyes at the black haired girl and rushing to help her friend.

"So, back to my question. Where were you last night? Were you in the pool? We're you..." Jacklyn continued to talk, but Alain blocked her out. His eyes followed Zara, watching as she helped Wally clean up, and willing her to get back over here. As he watched, a thought struck him, and he looked up quickly to see if Astrid was in the room.

As soon as he looked up, he caught Lysander's eye. The tall man raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly at Jacklyn. Alain scowled at the ground and shook his head at Lysander. He would have some explaining to do when Lysander came over. He began to wonder just how much of the argument Lysander had seen.

So it was to his great relief that Sidney appeared in the doorway at that moment and said, "Would everyone please head out to the battle field! We have a lot to do today, so hustle people!"

Alain broke away from Jacklyn's grip, and went out to the battle field, despite not having eaten anything. What he saw when he stepped out the door caught him of guard. The field was strangely bare, with only a few Pokemon, including a Shiftry and Absol, roaming around on it.

As more students began to enter the court yard, they spread out to stare at the giant obstacles. Sidney followed them out, and walked to the side of the field without saying a word.

"So where's the challenge?" someone asked from behind him. Alain turned his head slightly and saw it was Gordon.

Sidney chuckled, and gave the criptic answer of, "It's right in front of your nose. It's just another battle like all the others you've fought. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning." And he motioned for them to come closer, then cleared his throat. "As I know many of your know already, I am Sidney, Dark type Master of the Hoenn Elite Four. My strategy is, actually, more of a lack of strategy, really. When you battle, most people talk about all these moves that protect you, or lower your opponent's stats, or raise your own stats, and things like that, but when it comes down to it, the only moves that really matter are the ones that deal damage."

Some of the students nodded in agreement.

"That's what I train my Pokemon for: hitting hard and hitting harder. And that's what I want to see you do today. My challenge is for you to fight me, with all my Pokemon against your Mega Evolver." When several people began to protest, Sidney explained, "I don't expect you to win this battle. If you did that would be nothing short of a act of Arceus. It's only to see how strong you are."

Mixed emotions flowed through the group. Personally, Alain thought the challenge sounded easy enough, but he knew to keep his guard up none the less. Sydney was an Elite Four member; that wasn't a title you earned for no reason.

"So who wants to go first? How about you there, with the blue ribbons," Sidney said, pointing at Abby. She pointed at herself, and when Sidney nodded, came up to the right side of the battle field and released her Altaria. Sidney crossed the field and stood in the other trainer's box.

Today it was Drake who took the referee's place. "If the challenger is ready, we will begin."

"I'm ready," Abby said, though she didn't sound ready.

"Then challenge begin!" Drake shouted.

"Shiftry, use Extrasensory! Sharpedo, Crunch!" Sidney ordered.

"Altaria, use Moonblast!" Abby ordered back.

Sharpedo Crunched down on the Moonblast, causing it to explode. But before Abby could give any more orders, the Extrasensory attack came crashing down on Altaria. The Humming Pokemon faltered, then crashed against the ground.

"Cacturn, use Needle Arm!"

Cacturn leaped forward and slammed a spiky arm down on Altaria. Altaria cried out painfully.

Abby winced at the sound of her Pokemon's cry, and shouted, "Use Sing!"

The song floated across the field, and one by one all of Sidney's Pokemon dropped to the ground. Alain thought he heard snores from some of them.

"Now Mega Evolve!" Abby cried, grasping the end of the long blue ribbon in her hair. Her Keystone reacted with Altaria's Mega Stone, and Altaria Mega Evolved. "Now send a Moonblast into the middle of the field!" Abby commanded.

The Moonblast struck the ground between Sidney's Pokemon, and all of them but Absol went flying in every direction. Cacturn struck the courtyard wall and fainted.

"Moonblast again!" Abby cried.

Altaria charged the attack, but suddenly Absol raised it's head and roared.

"That's it Absol! Use Psycho Cut!" Sidney shouted.

Absol released the Psychic type move, and it colided with Altaria's Moonblast. In the explosion that followed, Mightyena leaped up and use Crunch from below Altaria. The Humming Pokemon managed to shake off Mightyena, but by that time Absol was charging it with an Areial Ace. The Areal Ace connected, and Altaria fainted.

"Altaria is unable to battle, so Sidney's team wins." Drake announced.

Abby recalled Altaria and walked of the field looking very relieved.

"Next!" Sidney shouted. "Who wants to try their hand at it?"

At first no one moved, but then from the back of the crowd a hand went up, and Zara strode up to the empty trainer's box. "I'll take a whack at it."

Sidney smiled a pleased and slightly aggressive grin.

"Are you ready?" Drake asked.

"Born ready," was Zara's instantaneous reply. "Sceptile, at the ready!"

 _She's rather confident today._ Alain thought.

"Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara touched her Keystone, and Sceptile Mega Evolved. "Start things off with Dragon Pulse!" she commanded.

"Absol, use Night Slash!"

Absol intercepted the Dragon Pulse, but it alone wasn't powerful enough to stop the attack. Absol was thrown backward, striking Shiftry and the newly-revived Cacturn when it landed.

Dust settled on the field, revealing a pleasantly surprised Sidney and focused and confident Zara.

"Now use Leaf Blade on Sharpedo!"

"Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet!"

The attacks connected, but once again, Sharpedo wasn't strong enough on its own to stop the attack, and flew back to collide with the back wall.

"Shiftry, Leaf Blade! Cacturn, Needle Arm!"

Both Grass types charged Sceptile. Zara, however, was ready for them. "Use Detect!" she ordered, and Sceptile dodged swipe after swipe after swipe of the two attacks. "Now Dragon Pulse!" Sceptile drove Shiftry back.

Sidney's eye narrowed in concentration at this turn of events. "Cacturn, Needle Arm! Sharpedo, Crunch! Mighteyena, Sucker Punch!"

All three Pokemon raced at Sceptile, side by side as the crossed the field.

"Jump over Mighteyena" Zara said. Sceptile cleanly leaped over the Dark type. "Leaf Blade on Absol!" Zara ordered. Sceptile jumped forward and sliced a Leaf Blade across Absol's front before Sidney had a chance to order anything.

 _She landed a direct hit on Absol, and that's good,_ Alain thought, _but now she's put her only Pokemon in between two sets of attackers. How is she going to get out of this?_

Sidney shouted orders to all his Pokemon to hit Sceptile, and the Dark types closed in, Cacturn, Sharpedo, and Migheyena from Zara's side of the field, Absol and Shiftry from Sidney's side. Some of them began to spread out a little, circling Sceptile.

 _She's trapped,_ Alain thought, _and there's no way she can get out of that trap._

All of Sidney's Pokemon leaped at Sceptile. It was seconds from being all over.

Then Zara shouted, "Use Detect!"

To Alain's amazement, Sceptile darted between Cacturn and Mighteyena, escaping from the circle of opponents unscathed. Unfortunatly for Sidney, all his Pokemon were still leaping at the place where Sceptile had been. But now that they had lost their target, they crashed into each other, creating a huge dust cloud. When the dust settled, everyone of Sidney's Pokemon lay in a pile where they had colided. Everyone of them was knocked out.

Sidney's mouth fell open. Drake could only stare for several minutes, but then seemed to remember that he was the referee, "Sidney's team is unable to battle, so Sceptile wins. Therefore the victory goes to Zara."

Sceptile reverted from its Mega form, then held its head high and roared at Sidney's Pokemon, who were just starting to get up. Zara had a huge smile on her face, as she watched her Pokemon. "So, you were saying about beating you would be nothing short of a act of Arceus?" she asked.

Alain struggled to keep his expression nuetral.

Sidney shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know how you did it, but that was an incredible show you just put on, Miss Zara. So what that I lost, it was fun anyway. Good job! Now, who wants to try next?"

Zara returned Sceptile to its pokeball and left the trainer's box. She walked over to the edge of the field, and stopped next to Wally. Several of the students' hands shot up, eager to be the next one to battle. _Guess now that they've seen it is possible, they're more eager,_ Alain thought. _Now I really want to battle her._

"How about you in the red," Sidney said.

To Alain's surprise, Jacklyn strode out from the crowd and into the trainer's box. She releaced her Blaziken, and said saucily, "Here comes your second loss."

Sidney just smiled back and shouted, "Absol, Psycho Cut!"

Alain watched the battle for a few minutes before he just zoned out. This was going to get rather boring after a while.

"Are you still mad at me from last night?"

Alain didn't need to look to know who had spoken. "No."

"That's good. Sorry if I said something to offend you."

"Do me a favor."

"Okay."

"Stop apologizing for everything."

"Alright." She paused, "You know, you never actually answered my question. What are these peaceful purposes that Lysander is collecting Mega Evolution energy for?"

"Why do you care?" He said it a bit more curtly than he meant, but none the less, she was getting really nosy.

"Same reason I ask about all the other things I've asked about. I want to get to know you."

"Why?"

She hesitated, but finally answered, "I already told you, because Steven told me to." After he gave no responce, she went on, "So, do you want to do something later today, after you participate?" and she nodded at the battle field where Jacklyn was battling.

"Like what?" _Nothing that will waste my time, I hope._

"I was thinking trying to swim again, since the last time was interrupted so quickly."

Alain thought about it. He didn't really want to distract himself from his goals anymore than was necessary, esspecially now that Lysander was here to watch every battle he fought. He couldn't lose now that Lysander was here to see the loss. _He said he had no time for weaklings..._

But, on the other hand, being in the water had relaxed him. And he had said he would try to be nice to Zara, and it did seem like it would be rude to refuse.

It was a tough choice. Thus, all he said was, "We'll see."

Zara looked away, and Alain thought he heard her mumble, "Well, at least that's not a 'no'."

Jacklyn fought an impressive match, but in the end she lost to Sidney, and left the courtyard in a huff. Brittney, Tracy, Mary, Flash, Dave, and Wally all had similar results. Zara stayed for these matches, but after Wally's battle was over she left, saying the Champion had another job for her.

Alain stayed in the courtyard for the next couple a matches. He was watching Eric's Abamasnow take an Extrasensory from Shiftry, when his Holocaster went off.

He had recieved a message from Lysander. All it said was for Alain to meet him in Lysander's room. Alain went there immediately.

When he arrived, Lysander rose from his chair at the room's small desk to greet him. "Good. I see you recieved my message."

"Yes, sir. What did you need?"

"If it is not your turn for this challange, I would like you to explain who that dark haired girl is that you were sitting with this morning."

Alain groaned to himself. "Her name is Jacklyn, sir."

"And why was she with you?"

"I'm not sure, sir. I've told her repeatedly that I don't want her around." He paused, embarrased, then said, "I think she finds me attractive."

The smile that crept onto Lysander's face showed his amusement at the thought, much to Alain's distaste. "But you do not find her attractive?"

"Not at all, sir!" Alain said firmly.

Lysander eyed him carefully. "Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure, sir. She is the most annoying person I think I've ever met."

This seemed to satisfy the tall man, and he relinquished his piercing gaze. "Well now that you have explained that matter, is there anything else that I should know about?"

Alain shook his head

"Are you certain, Alain? Anything, even something that you find completely unimportant, could potentially be a large threat to our mission."

Alain looked at Lysander with surprise. Something going on here that could prevent Chespie from being cured and Marin from smiling again? He would never let that happen. He racked his mind for anything that seemed worth telling Lysander.

"If there is anything, I hope you will tell me," Lysander continued, "because this is the reason I told you to be on your guard. Many people here would try to use you to destroy all we have worked for, and to turn you away from your mission and your goals."

Alain again looked at Lysander with surprise. _Steven and the Elite Four wanting to use me to destroy my goals?_ His face hardened at the thought. _I didn't think they meant me any harm, but now that I know, I'll be more careful with what I tell them. Especially Steven._ He went back to searching his memories of the past few days for anything worth telling Lysander. There was one thing that stood out in particular.

"Sir, an organization called Team Magma attacked the school two days ago. I was told their leader was with them when they attacked, but their intentions were not revealed to me. Steven and the Elite Four confronted them and drove them away."

"Interesting. I have heard stories of this team, and the crimes they have comitted. Why did you not confront them yourself?"

"I was told to stay in the courtyard. I would have gone out, but the penalty for breaking the rules is disqualification. And they enforce their rules strictly." He couldn't stop his mind from jumping to a memory of Drake's angry face.

Lysander closed his eyes for a moment. "I see."

"I did, however, see one of their elite members who tried to infiltrate the school from the back entrance. They were stopped and fled before they would reveal the purpose of their mission, so I cannot report on that subject, sir."

"And why did you not interrogate them before you let them escape?" Lysander asked.

"I was not the one to confront them, sir. Steven's student, Zara, was. I was only there to see the end of their battle, and then to block a Rock Slide attack from striking her."

Lysander's expression did not change as he said, "Why were you with her?"

"I followed her to see why she was disobeying Steven's orders. She was in trouble, and I helped her." He paused here, thinking, _A_ _nd she just ran off after I helped her._ _Of course she did give me a good explination afterward..._ The conversation came back into his mind unbiden. _Wait, that has to be importaint enough to tell Lysander!_ He opened his mouth to explain the rest of the day's events, but closed it almost as quickly. His face hardened in frustration as he remembered his promise. His promise to Zara that he would not tell anyone what she had confided in him.

Lysander noticed Alain's hesitation. "What is it, Alain?"

"There is something else that may be of importaince to you, but I was told never to repeat it."

"And who told you this?"

"It was Zara, sir. She made me promise never to tell anyone...what she told me."

Lysander moved back over to his chair at the desk and reseated himself. "Alain, you may not realize it, but any information you can give me is invaluable. But rest assured, if you are to tell me this secret, then I am bound by your promise to keep it as well. I will never reveal anything you tell me here to anyone. I give you my word."

Lysander's words dismissed Alain's hesitation, and he began to recount the events of the rest of the day, and all of Zara's story, not leaving out any details. When he finished, Lysander rose and asked, "And why has she chosen to lie to the Champion?"

"She claims it's because she wants to leave all memory of the attack in her past. She wants to forget about it, but she's still afraid of Team Magma seeing her as a target, and wants to protect herself from them." Alain answered.

Lysander leaned back in his chair. "Thank you, Alain. You have helped me greatly."

"And you will not tell anyone of Zara's story?" Alain asked anxiously, though he didn't know why.

"No, I will not," Lysander replied patiently. If Alain had looked closer, he would have noticed the scrutiny in Lysander's eyes, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to catch it. "Two more things Alain, and then you will be dismissed; why did this Zara tell you her secret?"

"She gave me a number of reasons: she didn't want me to find out on my own and be free to tell anyone I chose, she was tired of keeping it secret and thought that she could tell me without anyone in Team Magma finding out, and she said she trusted me for saving her life."

Surprise showed for an instant on Lysander's face but it was gone as quickly as it came. He said nothing for a while, but finally broke the silence with, "And why did you listen to her?"

The question caught Alain off guard. He faltered, and struggled to come up with an answer. "I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. And then he admitted something to himself. "Perhaps it is because I enjoy her company."

Lysander closed his eyes in thought and said, "That is all. You may go."

Alain turned and left. If he had glanced back, he would have seen his boss with a pleased and almost sinister smile on his face. When he had left the room and shut the door, Lysander said softly to himself, "You have helped me more than you will ever know, my subordinate."

Alain walked back out to the battle field, where Astrid and her Mega Absol were blasting there way through Sidney's Pokemon, and getting blasted back in turn. He slid into the crowd and watched for several minutes untill Mega Absol was hit by a particularly strong Aerial Ace, and Astrid had to duck to avoid her Pokemon's form that flew over her head.

"Absol is unable to battle, so Sidney's team wins!" Drake anounced.

"Nice job there, Miss Astrid. You've got a fine partner there." Sidney complemented. "Who's next? What about you there, with the blue scarf."

Alain's attention snapped to Sidney's face. The Dark type Master was looking right at him.

"Come on, hustle! We don't have all day!" Sidney urged.

Alain stepped up to the trainer's box, and shouted, "Charizard, let's go!", throwing Charizard's pokeball.

"Is the challenger ready?" Drake asked.

Alain nodded.

"Then challenge begin!"

"Absol, Psycho Cut!"

"Dragon Claw!"

The Dragon Claw sliced through the Psycho Cut, and Charizard bared its teeth at Absol.

"Now respond to my heart, Keystone," Alain said, "Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" And touching his keystone, it reacted with Charizard's Mega Stone and Charizard Mega Evolved.

"Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet!" Sidney commanded. Sharpedo raced forward, its body growing a watery covering.

"Dodge it, Charizard, and use Flamethrower!" Charizard shot into the air, narrowly missing the Aqua Jet, then let loose a Flamethrower at Shiftry and Mightyena. They took the Fire type attack full on."Flamethrower again!" Alain commanded.

"Sharpedo, use Poison Fang!"Alain and Charizard were caught off guard as Sharpedo snuck up behind Charizard and sank its poison covered fangs into the Fire type. Charizard growled and shook it off, but as Sharpedo fell back to the ground, Charizard winced, and purple bubbles appeared around its mouth. They popped quickly, but not before Alain saw them. "Poisoned, no!" he said, worry in his voice.

"Absol, Aerial Ace! Shiftry, Extrasensory! Mightyena, Crunch!"

"Charizard, Dragon Claw! Intercept Absol!" Charizard rolled into a dive, and met Absol halfway as the Dark type leaped to strike it. It easily threw Absol off, and the Disaster Pokemon crashed against the ground.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Charizard twisted it's head around and released a jet of flames at Mightyena. Mightyena winced from the impact, and fell back, unable to compete with Charizard's raw power.

Charizard pulled out of its dive, and winced itself from the poison. Then, seemingly out of no where, the Extrasensory attack came crashing down on the Fire and Dragon type. Charizard lost its balance and fell several feet before it caught itself, then struggled to regain altitude.

"Absol, Psycho Cut! Shiftry, Extrasensory! Cacturn, Needle Arm! Quick, while it's low!" Sidney ordered as quickly as he could.

 _I can't get away from them all!_ Alain thought frustratedly. _There are_ _too many attacks to dodge, too many Pokemon to intercept. I'_ _m surrounded._

"Charizard, fly higher and use Dragon Claw above your head!" Charizard flapped it's wings as hard as it could, and surged upward. As it rose, it raised its claws above its head and the Extrasensory attack came crashing down on the Dragon Claw. Charizard roared, then broke through the Extrasensory, and rolled to the right to dodge the Psycho Cut. Cacturn stood on the ground below Charizard, scowling at up it, and releasing the energy it had gathered to use Needle Arm. Charizard was too high for it to hit.

 _I'm so busy dodging and intercepting attacks, I have no chance to strike back. I wish I could hit them all at once._ Alain thought angrily. _Wait, what if I...yes, that might just work._

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted. Charizard brandished its claws, and dove into the group of Dark types, swiping first at Cacturn, then Shiftry, then Sharpedo. Slowly but surely, Charizard began to corral Sidney's Pokemon into the center of the battle field.

Sidney began to order attacks from his Pokemon, but Chaizard, guided by Alain, dodged or intercepted every one of them. The Fire and Dragon type soon was circling the tight mass of Sidney's team, but continuously had to keep sending Flamethrowers in every direction to keep it that way. And all the while it kept taking damage from the poison.

Finally, when Alain thought Charizard had gotten their opponents as tightly packed as it could, he ordered, "Now use Blast Burn!"

Sidney's eyes-along with everyone else's-widened. Sidney frantically shouted orders to his Pokemon to hit Charizard with whatever moves they could, but to no avail. Charizard dodged around a Psycho Cut, and reaching the ground, punched it with a firey claw. The Blast Burn spread out from around it, knocking attack after attack out of its way, untill it exploded underneath the knot of Sidney's team.

Smoke and hot wind blew into Alain's face, and he screwed his eyes shut to protect them. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear Charizard panting heavily.

And then he heard a thud.

Then...silence.

The dust settled to reveal that the Blast Burn had done its job, and every member of Sidney's team had been knocked out from it. But Charizard, try as it might, had taken too much damage, both from attacks and from its poisoning. It had collapsed itself, and lay before Alain with swirls in its eyes.

Drake looked at the field in confusion for the duration of a heartbeat, then raised his arms and stated, "Sidney's team is unable to battle, and Charizard is unable to battle. Therefore we have a tie."

"Excellent job!" Sidney praised, "You really understand where I'm coming from, don't you? Because you definitely know how to hit hard." And he smiled his aggressive smile. Addressing all the students, he said, "OK, I'm going to give my Pokemon a break for about half an hour, so you all can take a break for that long. Just be back here when the bell rings."

Alain returned Charizard to its pokeball, and stood staring at Sidney as he tended to each of his Pokemon. He hadn't won the challenge. True, he hadn't lost, but that was no excuse. And the one challenge he didn't win just happened to be the one that Lysander was present to watch. Alain cringed inwardly at the last thought. He knew Lysander would not be pleased with him.

He walked across the courtyard, barely comprehending where he was going till he walked in the Pokemon Center door.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center!" Nurse Joy said cheerfully, "Would you like me to care for your Pokemon?"

"Huh, oh, yes, would you take care of this, please," he answered, handing her Charizard's pokeball. She took it, and went to the back of the Center, and Alain sat down to wait. He remained there for the better part of ten minutes, before she came back out with his Pokemon. She handed the pokeball back to him, and he left the Center without knowing where he was going.

Alain walked up and down the hallway for the entire break time. It wasn't till the half hour was up that something managed to pull him out of his thoughts. Namely, Lysander's voice.

"Alain!"

Alain's head shot up, and he stopped pacing. Lysander strode down the hallway, stopped in front of him, and asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"Trying to figure out why I didn't win, sir," Alain answered, looking at the floor as he said it.

"You did not win," Lysander said firmly, but not unkindly, "because Sidney is strong. No one expected you to win this challenge, Alain. And you did not lose."

"But I didn't win either," Alain protested. "I failed to-"

Lysander held up a hand to cut him off. "You did well, Alain. You should be proud of yourself, not angry."

Alain started to protest again, but stopped himself, and replied, "Thank you, sir. I will try."

"Good. Now I have something to tell you. Z1 has been located and two of our head scientists are on their way to capture it."

"So our mission is almost complete?" Alain asked, thinking hopefully of Chespie.

"Yes, it is. Soon we will have the power of Mega Evolution harnessed for the sake of all humanity." And Lysander smiled a distant smile at his prediction.

Alain was about to add that Cheapie would soon be healed as well, but stopped as a new question formed in his mind. One that he had been asked himself very recently. "Sir, how exactly do you plan to further humanity with the Mega Evolution energy?"

Lysander stopped smiling and fixed a hard stare on Alain. "Why do you ask, Alain?"

Several reasons formed in Alain's mind, but he replied with the one that seemed the most obvious. "Because Zara asked me, and I couldn't give her a good answer."

"We plan to improve the quality of life for all people on earth with the energy we collect," Lysander answered, "and we hope to improve relations between those on this earth within the next few years so that life is easier."

Alain hated to push Lysander, but he could hear Zara saying in the back of his mind, _Well, yes, but how specifically do you plan to do that? What does that involve?_ "Yes, sir, but what are you going to do in order to improve life here in Kalos?"

Lysander's eyes narrowed. "Most importantly, we will eliminate all the evil in the world, including all those who oppose our mission. And," and he paused significantly, "including those who would hurt the people you care about."

The answer satisfied Alain. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Why did Zara ask you about our mission?" Lysander questioned.

Alain replied immediately with, "She said it was to try and understand me better. She says I don't make any sense to her." He pointedly didn't go into detail about her questions. Zara had asked things he himself wasn't sure quite how to answer, but he didn't want to admit that to anyone, Lysander included.

Lysander didn't press him to explain why Zara thought he made no sense. Instead he said slowly and deliberatly, "This Zara seems like an intriguing person. And you seem to be spending plenty of time around her."

Alain only nodded his agreement.

"Take care, Alain, that you do not become distracted from our mission by this girl. She may be an independent person, but she still answers to the Champion, and anything you say she may report to him. And whether she would hurt our mission intentionally or not, the Champion more than likely would."

"You're saying she may be a threat?" Alain asked, surprising himself when the question came our almost accusingly.

"All I am saying," Lysander said firmly, "is to keep your guard up." And with that, he left.

Alain watched him walk away. He felt troubled, almost as if his mind had been turned upside down and shaken. _Keep my guard up around Zara? She would be a threat to our mission?_ He didn't want to believe it, but if Lysander said it, he knew he needed to take it seriously. But, Zara? She didn't seem like she would do anything to destroy his and Lysander's goals.

 _Whose side are you on!_ his mind suddenly shouted at him, breaking through his muttled thoughts for the moment. _Why are you defending her! These are Lysander's orders you're defying by doing that! Do you want him to think you care about her more than your goals?_

And then a though surfaced that both angered and scared him. _Do I care about her more than my goals?_

He immediately supressed the thought, as a feeling of mortification spread through him. Of course he cared about his goals more than this Champion's assistant, who he barely knew! Whatever it was that had made him think otherwise, he needed to forget about it. He had to keep his guard up around her now. He had to. Just to be safe.

Giving his head a quick shake to clear it, he left the hallway, and went back to the courtyard.

The day dragged on for Alain. He watched lots of the other students, including Sylvester, Yvette, Maxine, and Luke battle during the afternoon. All of them lost to Sidney, though some came closer to defeating him than others. He finally gave up watching when there were only two trainers left waiting to battle, ate supper, and went to his room, which thankfully was Gordon-free.

He rested for some time. At least, he rested his body. His mind he couldn't seem to calm, no matter how hard he tried. Thoughts of Zara and her account of her history, Lysander and his warning, Mairin and Chespie, and his level of devotion to his goals ragged inside him and threatened to explode. He knew he would never give up on his mission to make Mairin smile again. Never. But, at the same time, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't want Zara to get hurt because of what he was doing either. She had started to grow on him, even though she was being extremely nosy. But would not wanting Zara to get hurt stop him from doing what he needed to do?

No. No it wouldn't. He just needed to make sure she stayed out of his way when it came to serving Lysander. And only for the next week. That shouldn't be too hard.

He needed to protect her. Only for another week, but still. He could do that. After all, she was much more capable of caring for herself than Mairin.

With his mind at ease, Alain closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep, when another thought of Zara surfaced. One from this morning. One where he had said he might go to the pool with her this evening. With a start, he sat up and pulled himself out of bed, then raced out of the room and downstairs.

The ground floor of the building was completely deserted when he got there. He looked everywhere, first for Zara, then for Wally, then for anyone who he could ask where either of those two were. He couldn't find anyone. After thirty minutes of looking, he noticed the sun was about to set, and decided to give up his search. He walked back to the staircase at the back of the building and was about to start climbing, when the building's back door opened, and Zara walked in.

Alain wanted to shout and ask where she had been, but a closer look at ther face stopped him. She looked completely exhausted. Her clothes were dirty, her Ponyta tail was coming down, her head and sholders were drooping, but the most striking diference was her face. It looked like all the cheer she'd had this morning had been drained out of her, leaving behind only an empty shell with sad, hollow eyes. So instead, he called out, "Zara!"

At his word, her head came up, and she forced a smile onto her face. "Hey!" she replied, her voice cheerful but clearly strained, "What's up?"

"I've been looking for you."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No. You asked me to come to the pool with you."

"I asked you to-" Zara began to repeat his statment, then stopped and face palmed. "No, I forgot! I am so sorry! It's just that Steven's job took me longer than I expected, and I lost track of time, and-"

Alain walked up to her and gestured for her to stop talking. "I asked you to stop apologizing."

Zara put on a chastised face, and said, "Sor-no, not going to say it again. Anyway, I'm afraid it really is too late to go swimming now, so is there anything else you'd like to do instead?"

Alain gave Zara a critical look. All the exhuation he'd seen in her before was gone without a trace, save a slight strain in her voice. And here she was offering to go do more, when only seconds before she had looked like the only thing she could do was colapse. Either she was faking her energy now, or she had been faking her exhaution before, which he wasn't sure. But one way or the other, she was a good actor.

"No," he answered simlpy.

"Well," Zara said slowly, "at least let me walk with you back upstairs."

Alain nodded, and they both began to climb the staircase.

"What," Alain started after they had taken a few steps, "were you doing for the Champion?"

Zara sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging slightly for a moment. "Moving more crates and such. I think by the time this seminar is over, I'll have gained more experience with moving things out of a truck than with battling," and she chuckled tiredly at her own joke. "I'll just be glad to get to a shower and get some sleep. And with any luck, maybe I won't have to clean my bed off tonight."

Alain glanced at her before saying, "At least your problem can be fixed."

"What do you mean?"

Alain closed is eyes. "My roommate snores. Loudly."

"Hmm. Have you tried wearing earplugs?"

"I don't have any."

"Oh. Well, I can't really help you there. Too bad there aren't any spare rooms that are ready for people to stay in them. We could stay in a couple of those and solve both our problems." Silence fell between them for several moments. Then Zara stopped abruptly, letting Alain get a few steps ahead of her before he realized she had stopped, and said coily, "Who says we need another room? There are other places to sleep than rooms around here."

Alain gave her a puzzled look. _I hope she doesn't mean sleeping in the hallway..._

"Why don't we sleep in the courtyard? It would be quiet out there, and we'd be protected from anything but rain."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Alain asked, uncertain.

"It's not as far as I know, and I'm fairly confident I remember all the rules from the 'Terms and Conditions' sheet."

"Alright. I'll come."

"Good. Just let me shower and grab a pillow, and I'll meet you down there in a few minutes." They walked on, and when they reached the top floor, Zara added, "Do you mind if Wally comes too?"

"No." To be honest, Alain thought Wally being there would make it seem less like he was spending time with just Zara, in case Lysander happened to be watching them through a window.

Zara smiled and walked down the hall and around a corner.

Twenty minutes later, Alain was standing in the middle of the courtyard, a pillow and blanket from his bed under one arm. The sun had already set by now, and the field was lit only by the light from the moon and stars. Zara soon came out onto the field to meet him, her Sceptile, Wally, and his Gallade following her. "Hi, again."

"Hi!" Wally chimed in.

Alain nodded to them, then reached into his pockets as inconspicuously as he could for Charizard's pokeball. Finding it, he tossed it, and the Fire and Flying type burst out. It glared at Sceptile, and Sceptile glared back.

Gallade just glanced at the two Pokemon, confused, but it stayed silent. It walked across the field to where Charizard stood, then lay down. Wally sat down in front of it, and as he did, he yawned.

"I think Gallade has the right idea," Zara said with a smile. "Time to wind down."

"But w-we only just got out here!" Wally protested.

"Hey, hey, calm down, I just said 'wind down', not 'go to sleep'." When Wally smiled, she and Sceptile settled down next to him, dumping her pillow and blanket on the ground next to her. Alain sat down as well, and he felt Charizard lay down behind him.

"So Wally, what do you think of the Mega Evolution Acadamy now?" Zara asked.

"It's great! I just wish I was stronger now, so I could do better in it."

"Strength isn't everything. Not to brag, but I won my match against Sidney today, but not because I was strong."

"Then why?"

"Because, well, because I out Delfoxed the Delfox. I outsmarted him."

Wally looked thoughtful for am moment before asking, "Like when you tricked that whole swarm of Beedrill?"

That caught Alain's attention. "Huh?"

"It was almost a y-year ago, when we were in the woods in the north part of Hoenn. Zara was helping me look for a n-new Pokemon for my team, when we were attacked by this huge group of Beedrill. I didn't know why they were mad-"

"We still don't know," Zara interjected.

"R-right. But they were mad, and started attacking us. Then Zara br-brought out Sceptile, and they jumped up into the trees and started leading the Beedrill away from us. I remember watching you r-run away, and all the Beedrill followed you, and you shouted back at me to hide. I hid for a l-long time, and then you came back and said the Beedrill were gone, and that you had led them into a cave where a lot of Golbat l-lived, and the Beedrill started fighting the Golbat, and n-neither of them noticed you slip away and come back to me." By the time he'd finished his narative, Wally was staring at Zara with eyes full of admiration. "You're not afraid of anything, are you Zara?" he asked.

"Who me? Of course I'm afraid of things," Zara answered.

"But you led those Beedrill off, and y-you fought Trainers that are t-twice your age, and you st-stood up to Jacklyn!" Wally protested.

"That doesn't mean I wasn't afraid when I did them," Zara replied. "Wait, correction, that doesn't mean I wasn't afraid when I did all of those things except stand up to Jacklyn. But isn't that the definition of courage? Doing something, even when you're scared, because you know it's the right thing to do?"

Wally yawned again, and said though the yawn, "I wish I was courageous like you, Zara."

"I think you need to go to sleep now, Wally," Zara answered him, giving him a sweet smile as she spoke. "Where's your pillow and blanket."

"I didn't b-bring any down,"

"You didn't? Why not?"

"I want to take the one off my bed, because it would get dirty out here, and I thought I would get in trouble if I got it dirty."

Zara threw her head back a laughed a clear, ringing laugh. "Wally, they wash those sheets every day, when we're battling!" she cried. Alain had to smile, even if it was only because laughter is conatgious.

"Oh," was all Wally said.

"It's alright, here, you can use mine so you don't have to go get yours," and Zara held out her own pillow and blanket to the green haired trainer.

"Then what are you going to sleep with?" Wally asked as he took the offered items.

"I'm fine without anything. After all, when I was on my journey, I slet with less than this all the time."

"Are you sure?"

"Possitive. To quote a wise man, 'there is no softer bed than the ground below, no warmer blanket than the stars above'."

"Well, i-if your s-sure," Wally said, then lay down, spreading Zara's blanket over himself. "Goodnight."

"See you in the morning," Zara replied, then lay down next to Sceptile, putting one arm under her head in place of a pillow. Alain pulled off his leather jacket and lay down as well, laying on his back and staring up at the stars.

Within minutes, he heard Wally's breathing become steadier, and he knew the young trainer was asleep. Across from him, Zara raised herself up on one elbow, and whispered, "Alain?"

"Yes."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I'm not brave."

"What?"

"I said, I'm not brave. Wally just thinks I am, because that's all he sees of me."

"Leading off a swarm of Beedrill seems like something to be considered brave for."

"They were just Pokemon. I may not have known why they were angry, but it wasn't hard to get them to leave us alone. If it had been Team Magma, and not a bunch of Bug types, I don't know if I could have gotten us out of there in one piece." She paused, and in the dark Alain could see the outline of her face and tried to make out her expression. "They really scare me, Alain. People who could destroy me with just a word to their grunts. And all for helping themselves become rulers of the world, or whatever it is their trying to do, further themselves and all that. They will stop at nothing. Not even killing. They make me want to hide under a rock and never come out, because I know I'll never be safe till one of us is gone."

Alain had no responce for that.

Sceptile shifted closer to Zara and let out a muffled cry of sadness. Zara lay back down and curled up next to the Grass type. "I just want to be safe. Is that too much to ask?" She said it more to herself that to Alain, but he the words struck a cord inside him. He lay still for a long time, untill he heard Zara's breathing even out, then pounded a clenched fist against the ground. Lysander had to be wrong about Zara. For all her nosiness and persistence, she had grown on him, and he knew she would never hurt him or anyone else on purpose. He hurt inside because of what she had told him, he hurt for her. He wanted to protect her.

 _But Lysander said to keep your guard up around her. You can't just be friends with her; she could be a threat. Not an intentional threat, but she could lead to Steven becoming a threat. Besides, she has Steven to take care of her, and for that matter, she can take care of herself! She's not like Mairin, constantly tripping and falling over something. She's strong and smart and pretty...wait, did I just call her pretty? I can't think like that._

Alain turned over and decided to sleep on it. He was drifting into a dream, when he heard a shudder from Zara's direction. Sitting up and letting the blanket fall from his sholders, he realized how cold it was tonight. Reluctantly, he crawled out from under the blanket and across the clearing untill he was next to Zara. She shuddered again, more violently this time, her breathing becoming more ragged, and muttered in her sleep, "Mom, no. Dad."

 _She's having a nightmare,_ Alain realised. Laying a hand on her arm, he suddenly felt how cold she was. _Guess the stars aren't such a warm blanket after all._ Grabbing his own blanket, he draped it over her and watched her for several minutes untill she didn't shudder anymore, and her breathing calmed. Then he went back to his own bed.

Charizard lifted its head as he settled down. "Char?" it growled.

"It's alright Charizard," Alain assured it. "I was only seeing why Zara was shuddering."

Charizard lowered its head till it could look Alain in the eyes. It was too dark for Alain to be sure, but he could have sworn that Charizard was smiling at him. Then it put its head back on the ground and went back to sleep. Alain fell asleep only moments after.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **OK, I hope this chapter was everything you guys were hoping for. As always, please review and let me know!**

 ***The one who Zara was quoting above when she gave Wally her blanket was Grandpa Smurf. Think whatever you want, I liked the saying.**


	9. Not a Casual Call

Not a Casual Call.

Lysander sat at his desk, sifting through piles of paperwork. The digital clock on the wall read 10:47. He glanced at it, then pushed aside his papers and reached for his computer. If he was going to do this, there would be no better time than now.

He turned the computer on and called Lysander Labs. The call rang several times, and then went to voicemail. Lysander frowned at his computer. He hadn't been sure anyone would still be up in the lab, but his head scientist, Xerosic, was known to stay up till two in the morning, and he had been counting on that.

He called again, this time calling Xerosic's personal number. This time Xerosic answered.

"Hello?" the head scientists asked through a yawn when he picked up.

"Xerosic? This is Lysander."

"Oh! Good evening, Lysander. Little late for a chat, isn't it?"

"This is not a causal call, Xerosic."

Silence on the other end of the line. "What do you need done, Lysander?"

"Do you remember a series of experiments you began several years ago regarding a mineral that could enhance a Pokemon's raw power?"

Xerosic paused, supposedly in thought, then after a while said, "If I remember correctly, we had to cease those experiments because we lacked enough mineral to complete any more tests."

"That is correct. Now what would you say if I told you I had found a way to retrieve more of that mineral?"

There was laughter in Xerosic's voice as he asnswered, "I would say, bring as much of it as you can get!"

"Excelent," Lysander said, "send Bryony and Celosia to help me retrieve it. If I remember correctly, it was one of them that caused our shortage of mineral the first time. Hopefully they won't repeat their mistakes."

"Hopefully not. I'll send them to Hoenn bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Xerosic. Also, tell them before they leave that Alain is not to know of this mission."

"Of course Lysander, but, why?"

"I have my reasons."

"Very well, Lysander. He's your bodyguard."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight to you too." And with that, Xerosic ended the call. Lysander leanded back in his chair, staring at the blank screen with glazed eyes. Soon, the power of Zygarde would be so strong only a fool would even try to stop him. He could just see it now.


	10. Third-Story Victory

Day 8: Third-Story Victory

Zara woke up the next morning to the sound of her Sceptile snoring. Just once, and not loudly enough to wake anyone else up, but loud enought to wake her up, considering she was sleeping right next to it.

She closed her eyes again and snuggled closer up to Sceptile, drawing her blanket up closer to her chin.

Wait...she didn't go to sleep with a blanket on.

Thinking for a minute, she decided Wally must have woken up sometime in the night and given her blanket back to her because he felt guilty for taking it in the first place. She smiled at the thought, and lazily opened one eye to look at the green haired trainer.

Wally lay in front of his Galade, the both of them still sound asleep. And the both of them covered by Zara's blanket.

Zara opened both eyes and sat up. _So this isn't my blanket. That is, unless Wally did get up last night and went and got himself another one, which I doubt that he did. Did Steven see us out here and feel bad for me or something? If he did, you'd think he would have brought me a pillow too. So it probably wasn't-_

She had been looking around the field for any signs of someone coming into their camp last night, when her eyes fell on Alain. He and Charizard were still fast asleep, but he had no blanket. And Zara was absolutely sure that he'd had one last night.

 _He must have given me his at some point last night,_ she realized. _That was really sweet of him,_ and she gazed at Alain in admiration. For several minutes she just stared, letting thoughts drift lazily throught her head unbidden. _He saved my life, he listened to my troubles, and now he covers me up at night. He really is a good friend._

 _He's actually kind of cute when he's asleep. Him and Charizard both. I guess I understand why Jacklyn pays him so much attention, he is rather good looking, asleep or awake. But there's so much more to him than that. So much more that she will never understand. And so much more that I don't understand._ She sighed at the last thought.

 _I wonder if he-_

 _No,_ her mind suddenly shouted at her, _you cannot think like this. You are trying to become his friend, and that is all. And the only reason you want to be his friend is because Steven told you you have to. Just because he knows your secret does not mean you can drag him into this mess your life has become. Who knows whe you'll have to start running from those maniacs in Team Magma again? He has a life back in Kalos that he needs to live, without any interference from you or them._

Zara bowed her head at the thought, knowing it was the truth, but not wanting to accept it. _I know_ _, I can't let him see this. I have to conceal it, just like I conceal all my past from everyone. And I'm forgeting, though this may be nice while it lasts, it will only go on for another week. No matter how what happens here, it will come to an end._ Looking back up at Alain, she guitily added, _But I can enjoy it while it lasts. Just have to be sure I don't get attached to him. He seems like he has enough worries to deal with as it is. He doesn't need me adding mine to his._

She gazed down at the blanket, and though she tried hard to supress it for practice sake, she couldn't stop the smile that spred slowly across her face. _Guess I do like the feeling of having someone know my secrets that can talk back. As long as it's him._

Across the courtyard, a door banged open. Alain jerked awake at the sound, sitting up and looking around sharply. Wally also woke up, a bit less abruptly, and rubbed his eyes. "Morning," he mumbled sleepily to Zara. She only nodded in responce.

Steven strode through the open doors, and up to the three of them. Without so much as a "Good morning" he said, "Zara, what in the world are you doing out here?"

"Um..talking to you?" Zara said as meekly as she could.

Steven's face became more stern. "Not funny, Zara. Now, why are you out here?"

"We wanted to get away from our roommates, so we thought we'd just sleep out here."

"What's wrong with your roommates?"

"Well, mine is a slob, Alain's snores terribly, and Wally's...actually, what is wrong with your roommate, Wally?"

"He's a little pushy some of the time, but mostly I came down here because you invited me," Wally answered.

"Oh. Well, those are the reasons," Zara said, readdressing Steven.

"I don't remember giving you permission to sleep on the battle field."

"You didn't, but I didn't think it mattered, since it isn't against the rules or anything."

"Zara," Steven sighed, "I didn't think their needed to be rules about that. Seemed to me it was rather obvious that the only place you were supposed to sleep was in the room that had been provided for you."

Zara ducked her head. "Sorry, Champion."

"I suppose it's fine, considering you are correct, techinically it isn't against any of that Acadamy's rules. But know that I will be making a new rule about it, so don't try it again, alright?"

"Yes, sir. It won't happen again."

"Good," and with that, Steven walked out of the courtyard, shaking his head.

Zara releaced a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Phew. That was close. Didn't think I as going to get off the hook on that one."

"You mean, y-you didn't think all three of us w-would get off the hook on that-t one," Wally corrected quietly.

"Actually, I think he would have only punished me, since it was my idea in the first place. At least, I'm almost positive he wouldn't have punished you." She stood up and dusted herself off. "Whatever would have happened, let's just get our stuff out of here before anyone else coming down to breakfast sees it, and asks what we were doing."

"Right," Alain said.

"Okay," Wally agreed.

They cleaned up their things, recalled their Pokemon, and dumping the former in their respective rooms, went down to breakfast. Wally whistled a cheery tune as they went down the stairs that reflected Zara's mood perfectly. She was truly happy, unlike she had been in a long time. She was at peace, something she hadn't fully experienced in eight years.

They were some of the first people in line when the reached the cafeteria. Going through the line took almost time at all, and the three of them chose an empty table near the front ofthe room. The place was oddly empty compared to most mornings. At least, it was for a little while.

And then Jacklyn came in.

She, as always, came over to the table Alain sat at as soon as she went through the line. Zara just turned a blind eye to the red-clad trainer. _Don't jump on her yet, she hasn't done anything worth getting angry about. Who knows, maybe she's had a change of heart and just wants to apologize._ Zara almost snorted at the thought. _Yeah, sure, when Swinub fly._

"What happened to you last night?" Jacklyn asked Alain in a sickly sweet voice. "Gordon told me you weren't in your room last night. And Brittney said that _she_ wasn't either. Is there something going on I should know about?"

"No," Alain said bluntly. Zara took a look at his face and thought he was gritting his teeth.

"So what were you doing that took all night, that involved _her_? Can't you tell me? I thought you cared about me!" Jacklyn nearly cried. Without giving him a chance to respond, she went on, "I care about you, and I think you ought to acknowledge it! So what do you have to say for yourself?" and she leaned in closer to him. Alain only turned away and stared at the far wall.

 _He's fine, he's fine, don't get up, don't make a scene,_ Zara thought over and over to herself.

"You jerk!" Jacklyn yelled at him, "I'll get you to show me you care, one way or another!" And with that she grabbed Alain's face by the chin, forcing him to face her, and leaned in even closer than she already was.

By that time Zara's thoughts were going haywire, so she did the only thing she could think to do. She stood up and grabbed Jacklyn by her hair. "Leave him alone!"

Jacklyn just stared at her, dumbfounded for a few seconds. In those few seconds, the cafeteria became dead slient, and Zara was suddenly painfully aware of everyone in the room staring at them.

"What's wrong with you?" Jacklyn hissed at her. "You trying to steal him again? I know what you're up to. You're jealous."

Zara realized with a jolt that she was doing exactly what she had told herself she would not do this morning. Letting her emotions get out of control. She released Jacklyn's hair, but instead grabbed her by her shirt and hauled her out of her chair. Leaning in as close as she dared, she whispered, putting as much venom behind her words as she could muster, "Stay away from him, or your going to have more than a sore scalp to deal with, and not only from me. It he wanted to be with you, he's had ample opportunity to say it, and I know we both haven't heard it. So do me a favor and get lost before one of us does something she regrets. Alright?"

Jacklyn didn't answer, only shoved Zara hard in the chest. Zara stumbled backward, and without a word, Jacklyn picked up her tray and left their table, mouthing the words _You'll pay for that_ back at Zara as she left.

Zara sat back down, her head swimming at what she had done. She barely registered Wally congratualting her on getting Jacklyn to leave, or Alain quietly thanking her for the same thing. She couldn't stop thinking about what Jacklyn had said. Was she jealous? Did she really, truely, honestly have feelings for him?

She turned to look at him, and finally admitted it to herself. Yes, maybe she did, even if they were only extremely superficial. _Maybe I just think too much of him as a savior,_ she critizised herself, _since he did save my life and all. But it doesn't matter, for all the reasons I already told myself. Not to mention there's the matter of his strange, unexplainable reasons for coming here in the first place._

"Attention students!" a familiar voice called out. Zara didn't even have to look to know it was Steven. "Would you please head out to the battle field. We are ready to begin today's challenge."

The room quickly emptied and all the students gathered in the courtyard. Outside, pillars had been erected on the battlefield and around it, many of them falling outside of the whitle lines. They were similar to the ones Glacia had used, but their heights varied more, the tallest coming just shy of the roof, the lowest being just shy of the first floor windows. Also, there were no holes dug between them.

"Now," Steven began, "all of you already know who I am, so I won't go into that. My strategy when battling is really a combination of all the Elite Four's methods they have been showing you, but that's not very specific. To put it in a sentence, 'Strike enemies where they're weakest.' And that's what I want you to do today. My challenge will bring out all of your weaknesses, and hopefully all of you strengths as well."

"There are a lot of rules to this challenge, so please be patient untill I finish. First, when you battle, the trainers will stand on the designated pillars. There will be no attacking any trainers or the pillars they're standing on." Zara looked around to see if she could spot the designated pillars. Sure enough, she saw them marked off with different colors of paint, but to her surprise their were four instead of two.

"Each trainer's Pokemon must stay on the pillars when they battle. They may not climb to where they are lower than they are tall or fall off the pillars, or they lose. So in order to move around the field, your Pokemon must jump from pillar to pillar. Or fly from pillar to pillar. Also, even though it is allowed, we would appreciate it if you wouldn't break the pillars."

"In order to attack, the Pokemon must be on a pillar. You cannot attack while jumping to another pillar, but you can dodge. We have this rule so Flying types are forced to use the pillars as well, and furthermore, flying Pokemon are not permitted to fly any higher than the average Pokemon can jump. Lastly, you must Mega Evolve at some point during the battle. Any questions?"

Mary raised her hand. "Um, isn't the field a bit...square?" She was right. Now that Zara looked more closely at it, she saw the pillars had been arranged in a perfect square, save for the designated pillars, which rested one on each side of the square. _What are you thinking Steven?_

"It is square if you're fighting a regular battle, but I thought we'd try something else today," Steven answered. "Someone from the Alola region intruduced me to this style of battling, and now I'm introducing it here. We are going to have a battle royale."

"No way!" Wally burst out, then quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

Steven just smiled at him and said, "Way." Wally, Zara, and several of the others burst out laughing.

"We planned," Steven began again when the laughter had died down, "to start with the Pokemon that can get the highest, and take the taller pillars down as we go. So the first groups of four will be the ones that can battle on the tallest pillars. And they are: Jacklyn, Flash, Alain, and Carl."

The four said trainers stepped out of the crowd, and Steven directed them over to Drake and his Salamance. The Dragon type Master flew all four of them up to their designated pillar, then had Salamance land on the roof. "Do any of you need me to repeat the rules?" he shouted across to the them.

"No!" They all shouted back.

"Then are you ready?" Drake asked.

Some of them said, "Yes!", others just nodded.

"Then battle begin!"

Zara, being on the ground, had to crane her neck to see anything that was going on above her. She saw the trainers send out their Pokemon and give a few inteligible commands before she gave up trying to watch. Then an idea struck her. Running up to Steven, she asked, "Are we allowed to go up on the roof an watch?" When Steven gave his concent, she releaced Sceptile, and the two of them climbed the wall to the roof. Now she could see, and hear, the battle clearly.

All four trainers had their Pokemon directly in front of them. The field was quiet, each trainer waiting for their opponent to make the first move.

Then Carl shouted, "Lucario, use Aura Sphere on Ampharos!"

"Intercept with Electro Ball!" Flash ordered.

The Fighting type move connected with the Electric type one, and they exploded, sending sparks flying across the field. Charizard and Blaziken jumped to different pillars to dodge them.

"Now Charizard, use Flamethrower on Lucario!" Charizard let loose a stream of fire at the Fighting and Steel type.

"Blaziken, use Overheat on Lucario!" Jacklyn ordered. Blaziken shot a blast of molten lava after Charizard's Flamethrower.

"Dodge them!" Carl shouted. Lucario jumped to another pillar to dodge the Flamethrower, but couldn't get out of the Overheat's path. Carl threw his head back, causing his dark brown hair to fall back from his face, and yelled, "Use Dragon Pulse!"

Lucario braced itself, and putting its hands out in front of it, releaced the multicolored attack. It connected with the Overheat, but couldn't overpower it, leaving the two Fighting types locked in combat.

 _Now strike them while they're struggling with each other!_ Zara thought.

Alain must have been thinking the same thing, because he immediatly shouted, "Charizard, Flamethrower on Lucario!"

"No!" Carl cried, but Lucario could do nothing to stop the attack from connecting. The Flamethrower struck it, and it was thrown back, hitting a pillar behind it. Lucario quickly grappled for a hand hold to keep itself from falling.

"Ampharos, Mega Evolve!" Flash shouted. "Now use Discharge!" Zara realized in the confusion she'd forgotten the Electric type. She evidently wasn't the only one. Charizard and Blaziken both were struck by the powerful Discharge, and Charizard lost its balance and started to fall. It flared its wings at the last moment, and brought itself back up to the pillar it had been on.

"Blaziken, Overheat on Ampharos!" Jacklyn ordered.

"Charizard, Flamethrower on Lucario!" Alain shouted.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere on Charizard!" Carl commanded.

"Intercept Blaziken with Electro Ball!" Flash yelled.

The four attacks met their marks in the middle of the field, and exploded. Smoke blew outward from the field and into Zara's eyes, making them smart.

She heard Jacklyn cough a couple times, then heard the sound of a Pokemon Mega Evolving. The smoke cleared and she could see both Mega Charizard and Mega Lucario. Blaziken had yet to Mega Evolve, and it stood with its arms raised in defence.

"Blaziken, Mega Evolve!" Jacklyn shouted, and touching her keystone in her choker, it reacted with Blaziken's Mega Stone. Blaziken roared as it Mega Evolved. "Now jump to Charizard's pillar and use Sky Uppercut!"

Quick as a whip, Blaziken leaped to Charizard's pillar and punched its jaw with a Sky Uppercut attack. Zara heard Alain call out for Charizard to attack with Dragon Claw, but by that time Blaziken was back in front of Jacklyn.

 _How did it-Oh, that's right, when Blaziken Mega Evolves, its ability becomes Speed Boost,_ Zara thought.

"Use Blaze Kick on Ampharos!" Jacklyn shouted.

"Use Discharge!" Flash ordered.

Ampharos let loose with a wild Discharge attack. Charizard and Lucario managed to avoid the blast of electricity, but Blaziken took it full on. When Ampharos was through, it fell to its knees in pain, clutching the pillar it stood on for support.

"Now Dragon Pulse!" Flash commanded.

"Lucario, Bone Rush!" Carl ordered.

Ampharos releaced the Dragon type attack, and though Jacklyn shouted at ther Pokemon with all she had in her, Blaziken was too exhausted to move very far. In a last ditch attempt to save itself, it flung itself onto the nearest pillar, sllipped, and tried to hall itself back on top. It was no use. Lucario charged forward, and landing on the pillar Blaziken was struggling to regain, struck the Fire type again and again with its Bone Rush. Blaziken cried out, but didn't let go, instead grabbing Lucario by the leg and dragging it closer to the edge.

 _And all this time,_ Zara thought, _Charizard hasn't moved._ Glancing back at Alain, she did a double take. Charizard wasn't there!

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted.

Charizard tillted in the air above the pillars and swooped toward Ampharos, landing on the Light Pokemon's pillar, and sliced at it with glowing green claws. Ampharos roared and staggered back from the hit, teetering dangerously close to the edge of its pillar.

"Ampharos!" Flash cried. "Alright, Dragon Pulse!"

"Flamethrower!" Alain countered.

The attacks connected with each other, and the explosion sent them both reeling. Both lost their balance on the small pillar and fell. Charizard flared its wings and barrel rolled to save itself. Ampharos wasn't so lucky. It dangled above the three story drop, held up only bitting down on a chunk of rock that protruded from the nearest pillar.

 _Guess one of Ampharos's weaknesses is that it isn't nearly as moblie as the other three,_ Zara thought.

"Ampharos!" Flash shouted.

"Finish this, Charizard!" Alain said, "Dragon Claw!"

Charizard landed on the pillar Ampharos daggled from, and leaned down to swipe at the Electric and Dragon type.

"Use Overheat!"

Zara's attention snapped back to Blaziken and Lucario. Somehow the Fire type had managed to strike the Steel type, because now Lucario was struggling to rise on a pillar in front of Carl. And Blaziken was back in front of Jacklyn, firing an Overheat straight for Charizard. The Fire and Dragon type had no time to attack Ampharos, but instead lanched itself into the air and received only minor damage.

 _That's a weakness Alain,_ Zara thought, _getting overconfident. Its never over till it's over. I've got to remeber that for when I battle him._

Flash raised a fist and shouted, "Either we win, or we go down trying! Discharge!"

Ampharos releaced the most powerful Discharge yet, and it struck all three of its opponents. All three Pokemon cried out in pain.

Carl didn't wait for the attack to end to move. "Lucario, Dragon Pulse on Ampharos!"

Lucario struggled against the surge of electricity, then launched a Dragon Pulse. Evidently it couldn't see very well, because the attack didn't hit Ampharos. Instead it hit the pillar Ampharos was clinging to, causing the whole top half of it to break apart. Ampharos plummeted, hit the ground so hard it left a crater behind, and fainted.

Having been liberated of the Discharge, Blaziken moved swiftly over to Lucario's side of the field.

"Lucario, be ready with Bone Rush," Carl cautioned.

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick!" Jacklyn ordered.

Both Pokemon charged each other. Blaziken lashed out with firey kicks, but Lucario countered everyone of them with the bone it balanced on its back. The two Fighting types jumped from pillar to pillar, concentrating completely on their opponent.

 _And there's another weakness, one Steven taught me about. Concentrating too much on what's right in front of you and not looking out for traps. Easily made mistake, but these two should know better, especially since this isn't the first time it happened,_ Zara critizised.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

Both Fighting types froze, but it was too late for either of them to dodge. The Flamethrower knocked Blaziken backward and it leaped to the next pillar behind it, but it sent Lucario flying off the field and into the wall of the school. It landed next to a window and fainted.

That left only Charizard and Blaziken. The two Fire types were both evidently weak, both panting heavily. They locked eyes, and slowly began to circle the field, jumping from pillar to pillar, waiting for the other one to move. The circling stretched on for ten minutes before Jacklyn growled in frustration and shouted, "Use Sky Uppercut!"

Blaziken dashed forward, using its superior speed to get halfway to Charizard before Alain could say anything.

"Blast Burn, lets go!" Alain ordered when he caught up with Blaziken.

Charizard roared and punched the ground with a firey claw. Blaziken skidded to a halt, unsure of what to do now, but Jacklyn just urged it on. "Intercept it with Blaze Kick!" she commanded.

Blaziken went back into action, and jumping into the air, covered the last several yards in one leap, and came down to connect with Charizard's Blast Burn. The two Fire types struggled, and Blaziken held its ground for several seconds before Charizard overpowered it. It flew backward, struck the wall, and fainted.

"No!" Jacklyn screamed.

"Lucario, Ampharos, and Blaziken are unable to battle, so Charizard is the winner. Therefore the victory goes to Alain," Drake announced.

Zara smiled broadly. _When I get to fight him, that'll be a battle to remember, I just know it._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain stood on his pillar and waited as Drake and his Salamence collected the trainers from their pillars. His mind swam with images of Charizard attacking, defending, and dodging. All three of these trainers had been good opponents, but he was still the strongest.

Salamence flew over and he stepped onto the Dragon and Flying type. They soared to the ground and he dismounted behind Jacklyn. He caught her eye as they climbed off, but all she did was "hmph" and look away.

 _What a relief that's over,_ he thought gratefully. _Now she won't follow me around anymore for sure._ He couldn't have cared less as to why she disliked him all of a sudden; he was just glad she was gone.

Steven's voice rang out over the courtyard, bringing Alain back to reality. "The next set of four trainers will be Luke, Penny, Abby, and Zara."

The four trainers rushed out form the crowd, and in Zara's case, the back wall, and toward Salamence, and once on it's back, the Dragon Pokemon flapped its wings and lifted them up to the pillars. Then, its job completed, it landed on the roof with Drake.

"Are you all ready?" Drake called.

"Yes!" they all answered in unison.

"Then challenge begin!"

Alain tried his best to watch the battle for the better part of ten minutes, but in the end he gave up. The battlers were just too high and too far away for him to make out for sure what they were doing. He eventually shrugged it off and went inside.

He searched several of the rooms on the first floor to entertain himself, and found, entirely by accident, a training room. Upon futher investigation, he decided to train for a while. Sending out his Metang, the two of them trained for the rest of the morning, untill the whistle blew for lunch.

Alain recalled Metang and stepped out into the hall at the sound of the whistle. He was rounding the corner to the cafeteria, when he ran into Steven, and Glacia.

"Hello, Alain," Steven greeted. Glacia only nodded to him.

"Hello," he returned, to both of them.

"Going to lunch?" Steven asked, tilting his head toward the cafeteria.

Alain nodded.

"Well then, I won't stop you. Enjoy yourself,"

"Thank-"

"Hey, Champion!" Zara's voice revibrated off the walls of the long hallway, as did the sound of her and Wally's approching footsteps. She stopped just behind Steven and he turned to face her. "Drake said he wanted to know how many of the taller pillars you wanted knocked down before he knocked down too many."

"Tell him to knock down any that come above the second story windows."

"I-I-I'll d-do it," Wally offered quickly, and before Zara could protest, he turned and ran back the way they'd come.

Zara stared after him for a few moments. "Strange, he never wants to talk to Drake. Guess he's starting to stick up for himself." Turning to Alain, she said, "You missed my battle, didn't you?"

"I guess I did. How did you do?"

"I dominated them!" Zara exclaimed, punching the air with her fist. "They were all plenty strong, but they were no match for Sceptile! I guess that means all our hard work is paying off," Zara addressed the last sentence to Steven. "So I have to ask, if I win the tourament at the end of the Seminar, can I challenge you to become Champion?"

Steven smiled. "You can challenge me anytime you want. Only," and here his smile became crafty, "you'll need to tell Cynthia tonight that she'll have a new Champion to comunicate with very soon."

"Oh, I'm sure she won't-" Suddenly Zara stopped talking and her eyes widened. "Champion Cynthia is coming here! Tonight!"

Steven nodded, the crafty smile still on his lips.

"Why didn't you tell me before now?" Zara cried. "You know I've been looking forward to her next visit for weeks!" Steven only chuckled, and Zara gave him a perturbed look. "Why is she coming now?" she asked instead.

"Partly because she wanted to see how the seminar was going, and partly to see how her assistant is progressing here."

"Her assistant?" Alain interrupted.

"Yeah, Carl. The guy you faced today with the Mega Lucario," Zara clarified.

"She'll be here this evening, after the battles are finished," Steven went on, "and I'm going to announce it after lunch. Untill then, please don't tell anyone about this, alright?" And he looked at both Zara and Alain as he said it.

Both trainers gave their affirmation and left Steven and Sidney for the cafeteria. Alain glanced back at the Ice type master as they left, and thought he saw her staring at Zara with a cold, correctional look on her face, but it was gone so quickly Alain easily could have been mistaken. Still, it unnerved him, and made him want to put an arm around Zara and pull her closer, to keep her safe.

 _No, you can't do that!_

 _Right,_ he thought, and shook off his uneasiness.

Lunch passed completely uneventfully. Jacklyn sat on the opposite side of the cafeteria and refused to even look in his direction the whole meal, much to his relief. Zara gave him a play-by-play of her battle, pointing out as she went lots of mistakes both she and her opponents had made. After they finished, Alain invited her and Wally to come train with him, thinking he might be able to get her to battle him as training. Zara refused, however, saying she had jobs that needed to be done, and thus Alain was stuck training with Wally for the whole afternoon. It wasn't so much that he minded the young trainer, after all, he was much quieter and more sensible than Mairin, but he had been hoping to spend some more time with Zara.

 _No you weren't!_ his mind chastised him, and the whole afternoon, he found he was training his thoughts more than his Pokemon.

When evening rolled around, and Champion Cynthia arrived, Alain was mentally exhuasted. Constantly, he had to get on to himself for thinking something, ususally involving Zara, that he knew was distracting him from his goals and from serving Lysander. He had managed to clear his mind of every unwanted thought, but the effort it took had been so large he wondered if he would be able to greet the Champion or not. He would try.

He and Wally had left the training room and were headed out to the courtyard when Glacia passed them. She took one good look at the both of them and cried, "What do you think you're doing? Don't you know Sinnoh's Champion is about to arrive?"

Alain and Wally both looked at each other, then at Glacia. "Yes," Alain answered slowly.

"Then why haven't you gotten changed? Didn't you hear my announcement?"

The two boys once again exchanged glances, then Wally answered, "Um, no?"

Glacia let out a frustrated sigh, and said in an equally frustrated tone, "I announced about thirty minutes ago, would everyone who wishes to meet Champion Cynthia please put on nicer clothes for when she arrives. We do want the academy to get a good reputation in other regions, and who better to judge it than the Champion of that region herself? Now go find something better to wear!"

Wally tore off down the hall for the staircase, leaving Alain by himself as he climbed the stairs. He went to his room and donded a pair of black jeans and a black button-up, which he wouldn't have packed in the first place if Lysander hadn't insisted. Dressing up always seemed like a waste of time to him; if you were going somewhere, what did it matter what you wore, so long as it wasn't full of holes or covered in dirt?

He went back to the staircase, and met Steven at the doorway. "Did you happen to bring a tie?" the Champion inquired as they met.

Alain groaned inwardly, and shook his head.

"I thought not. Wouldn't want Glacia to jump on you for that, so I'll let you borrow one of mine." And with that, he disappeared back into his room, returning a moment later with a azure blue tie. He handed it to Alain and said, "I don't know why Glacia is so worried about Cynthia not giving this place a good reputation. I'm sure she'll like it. But, you'd better wear this anyway so she doesn't have a panic attack." He smiled at his own joke, and Alain's expression softened as he took the tie.

Alain waited untill Steven had gone down the stairs before he attempted to tie the blue tie under his collar. He didn't want to have to admit he hadn't the faintest idea of how to do this, but if Steven had stuck around he wouldn't have needed to. After two tries it became very apparent.

After the two tries he gave up, deciding he might be able to find Glacia and ask her to tie it instead. After all, it was her idea in the first place. With that thought, he headed downstairs, tie in hand.

Once downstairs, he looked for Glacia, but couldn't find her anywhere. Although the other Elite Four member, Steven, and Lysander were all in the courtyard, Alain's pride refused to alow him to ask any of them. Not knowing where Glacia would be other than the courtyard, he chose to wait and see if he could spot her. Five minutes passed, and she didn't appear. Then ten. Then fifteen.

Alain was more than ready to forget the tie when he spotted Wally coming into the courtyard, his own tie clutched in his right hand. The green haired trainer spotted him almost immediately, and stepping closer said, "Guess y-you can't help me either."

Alain only shook his head.

"W-w-well then Zara c-can help me. She knows how to tie one of these really w-well. D-do you know where sh-she is?"

Alain prepared to shake his head again, when he chanced to look up at the doorway. Zara was there, or at least he thought it was Zara. Her appearence had changed so much since he'd seen her a few hours ago, she looked almost unrecognizable. Instead of her normal attire, she wore a pale green dress that had short sleeves and fell to the middle of her calves. Her hair was down and had a slight wave to it as it fell around her face. On her face, Alain thought he could see eyeshadow and blush, and he was sure she wore lipstick of some kind.

He couldn't help but stare at her. He tried to convince himself it was only because of the huge change that had taken place, but deep inside, he knew better. As Zara made her way toward him, all the thoughts that he had worked so hard to bury that afternoon came creeping back up to the surface of his conscienceness. He watched her as she bent down to talk to Wally, and finally admitted it to himself. He cared about her. He truly cared about her, and wanted to protect her. Perhaps even more than that...

"Do you want me to help you with that?" Zara asked, bringing him back to reality. She pointed at the tie he held, and he handed it to her. "How do you want me to tie it?" she asked as she folded up his collar. Alain's heart involuntarily skipped a beat as her hands brushed his neck and shoulders.

"However you can," he replied, fighting to keep his voice steady. Her hands looped the tie around his neck, and after securing it in place, she gave a quick nod of satisfaction and backed away. "There! Now you both look ready for the Champion."

"As do you," Alain commented politely.

At his words, Zara's face reddened slightly, and she held out her arms and spun around. "Like it? A friend made it for me."

"You're friend-" His words were lost as a Garchomp flew overhead, and everyone around them rushed toward the main door. Steven opened it a moment later, and none other than Champion Cynthia herself walked into courtyard.

"If you'll excuse me," Zara said politely and followed the rest of the students to greet Cynthia. Alain watched her go, but didn't follow. He was content to let the crowd die down before he tried to greet the Sinnoh Champion.

Across the courtyard, Lysander beckoned to him to join him. Alain crossed the field and stood next to his boss, waiting patiently for Lysander to speak, but he was unsure why he wanted to talk with him.

"You seem to be spending a lot of time around the Champion's assistant," Lysander said, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you remember what I told you yesterday, Alain?"

"About keeping my guard up?"

"Yes."

"I do, sir."

Lysander's face hardened as he said, "But I don't see you following my advice."

Alain looked up at him, a response on the tip of his tongue, but it died on his lips. Lysander was right, he really hadn't been keeping his guard up like he should have been. All the thoughts he'd been having just a few moments ago proved it. He lowered his eyes to the ground and said, "I'm sorry, sir. I will do better."

"You have to. Which is why I needed to speak to you. You must stop spending time with Zara." Alain looked back up at Lysander, truly surprised by this. He started to respond, but Lysander wasn't finished. "These are your new orders, Alain. It is imparitive that you do not reveal anything to her, and in turn, the Champion. Doing so could destroy our mission."

Alain stared straight ahead without seeing anything. Stop spending time with Zara? She wasn't a threat, and she never would be, he could not stress that point more within himself. But, at the same time, he knew Lysander was right, that she could repeat anything he said to Steven and completely unententionally cause trouble. But did that really call for never being around her anymore? The two sides of the argument began to struggle against each other in his mind.

"I hope that you are still loyal to our cause, Alain," Lysander said softly, so softly that Alain only barely understood his words.

Lysander's doubt stung Alain. Of course he was still loyal to Lysander and to his promise to become stronger!

And then breaking through his jumbled thoughts like a wrecking ball, was the thought of his promise to Mairin. His promise to heal Chespin and to see her smile again. He'd sworn it. He wouldn't, no, he couldn't go back on that now. He would see it through, whatever that took.

A small lump formed in his throat, but he forced his words around it. "I understand, sir."

"Good," Lysander said, then he fell silent. Alain too fell silent, but the lump in his throat grew steadily larger. He had lost all interest in the Champion by now, and stood vigilant by Lysander the rest of the evening. Thoughts of his goals and Zara clashed in his mind the whole time.

As the evening came to a close, Alain decided within himself that he did still want to protect Zara, for he still cared about her, but his duty to Lysander-and Mairin-came first. She couldn't get involved in it no matter what, not even by accident, for doing so could, and probably would, but her in danger. And she had enough danger in her life as it was. And that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to protect her. And the best way to do that was for her to stay as far away from him as she possibly could.

Thus, when the evening was over, he mounted the stairs with a determined mind.

He went to his room, changed out of his nicer clothes and donded his normal attire, then climbed to the roof. Zara was there, in her normal clothing, standing and gazing out at the forests of Hoenn. Sceptile stood beside her, its head resting on hers, and crooning to its trainer every now and then.

Alain took a step forward, and when she didn't acknowledge him, he released Charizard. He kept advancing untill he stood next to her. Still she remained unmoving and silent.

She retained her position for a full minute before she blinked several times and asked, "Did you have a good talk with your boss?"

Alain hesitated for only a moment before answering curtly, "You ask too many questions."

Zara turned to face him, and he saw surprise on her face. "I was just asking. Not trying to intrude on somthing personal." More quietly, she added, "Sorry."

"You should mind your own buisness," he snapped, hating himself as the words came out, but unwilling to stop them from coming.

"Is everthing alright? Did I do something to upset you?"

"No, you didn't"

"Then what is it?"

Alain refused to answer. _I cannot go back on my promises...She'll be safe this way...hang on Mairin..._

Zara shook her head in apparent confusion. "You know what? I don't understand you at all. Who shoves away the people he wants to protect? Who works for someone when he doesn't even know the goals he's working toward? Who trains without a purpose he can clearly define? And now this, snapping at me and having no reason for it? Why won't you explain!" Sceptile growled here, as if to emphasize her point.

"Well, maybe I don't understand you either!" Alain burst out. "Who lies to the people who she claims she's closest to? Who would rather live with Pokemon than people, because they can't talk about the secrets they're told? Who wants to live their life in fear?"

Zara stepped back, her eyes shinning with tears in the starlight. "I don't want to live in fear; I'm forced to," she whispered.

"Then why don't you do something about it? Something that doesn't involve me protecting you. I'm not your guardian. This is your problem. Stop relying on others."

Zara could only stare at him dumbly.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to have anything to do with you ever again." When she didn't move he shouted, "Just go!"

His words hung in the air between them as if, just by speaking them, he had put an unbreakable barrier between them.

Finally, Zara whispered in a choked voice, "Fine. If that's the way you want it." And with out another word she ran to the edge of the roof, and grabbing the edge, swung herself over. Alain heard the window slam below him.

Charizard raised its head and glared at him. "You have something to say?" Alain snapped. Charizard simply let out a negative growl, then turned away from its trainer.

Left to himself, Alain whispered, "It's for the best." Without another word, he returned Charizard to its pokeball and climbed down the fire escape. He went to his room and lay down to sleep, but sleep was a long time in coming. After hours of tossing and turning, his last thought before falling into a restless sleep was of Mairin crying into Lysander's coat.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara lay on her bed, crying softly into a pillow. All the happiness she'd had this morning was gone, dashed in pieces. And here she thought she'd found a friend.

 _What did I do to make him so angry? Was it just asking about his conversation with his boss that set him off? Or was it something else? Can I fix this tomorrow? Or is it hopeless?_

She turned over and let the tears run down her cheeks. _Will he still keep his promise about my secret? Or will he tell Team Magma about it to spite me?_

These and many other thoughts raced through her brain. Finally, exhaustion took over, and Zara gave in to it, welcoming the relief from her troubled thoughts. As darkness filled her mind, she wondered, _What could possible happen tomorrow? Courtney again?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Well, that's the end of that. Alain shoving Zara away only just after he decides he cares about her, and Zara crying at the loss of the only person she truly trusts. Can this get any worse for either of them?**

 **I'm afraid this chapter isn't all it should have been, but I hope it's good, and that you all enjoyed it.**

 **As always, please review!**


	11. Everyone Makes Mistakes

Day 9: Everyone Makes Mistakes.

Alain woke early the next morning with a headache. What little sleep he had gotten last night had been troubled at best, and he still felt tired because of it. Nevertheless, he hauled himself out of bed and got ready for the day ahead of him.

His foul mood only worsened as the morning progressed. Gordon badgered him about what had happened two nights ago, and though he told the him nothing, Gordon still pressed him till his patience threatened to give out. Unfortunately, no amount of refusing to answer seemed to dampen Gordon's curiosity.

Breakfast didn't help either. He was one of the first people downstairs, and sat at an empty table in the back of the cafeteria. Jacklyn and her friends came in. She gave him one distasteful look, and didn't give him a second glance the whole meal, for which he was grateful. But then Zara came in, and when she glanced at him, here eyes were so full of confusion and sadness, he wanted to take back what he'd said last night. But then she had turned away and sat down with Wally, also not giving him a second glance.

 _It's for the best,_ he told himself for what must have been the twentieth time. _Remember Mairin._

Anger filled him, and he stabbed a sausage as hard as he could, nearly knocking his plate in the floor.

"Attention everyone! We have a few announcements to make, so please listen up!" Phoebe called from the front of the cafeteria.

Alain put down his fork and turned to the front of the room.

"Today marks the first day of our competition here at the Mega Evolution Seminar. I'm going to explain how the competition will work. Each of you will fight one battle per day. This is a single elimination competition, so once you loose one time, you're out. The winner of each battle will move on to the next day's competition, and will be paired with another winner from the previous day. We will post a chart showing who will battle who and who wins in the main hallway, so you can keep track of the entire competition. But today, we have a lot of battles to go through, so we need to get started. The first pair I need are Alex and Gordon."

The two trainers stood up and left the room with Phoebe. The room quickly settled back to it's usual level of noise, and Alain let his thoughts wander again. Even though he was surrounded by people, he realized he was alone. And he realized something else too. He hated it.

 _It's for the best,_ he told himself again, but he clenched his fists as he thought it.

The morning dragged by. Alain went outside to watch the other students battle, and to get away from Zara. Gordon finished his battle, and won, then a boy named Garrett, who owned a Mega Hectacross, fought Brittney and lost.

Then it was Alain's turn.

He approached the battlefield, and stood in one trainer's box, Eric standing opposite him.

"You both know the rules?" Sidney asked.

"Yes," both boys replied.

"And are you both ready?"

"Yes," they both replied again.

"Then battle begin!" Sidney shouted.

"Go, Charizard!" Alain shouted, throwing Charizard's pokeball. In a flash of white light, Charizard burst onto the field. The Fire type glanced over it's shoulder to glare at Alain, then smacked it's tail against the ground and faced forward again. Alain chose to ignore the look.

"Abomasnow, let's go!" Eric cried, and threw a pokeball of his own. Abomasnow landed on the field with a loud crash, roaring as it landed.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

"Intercept with Ice Beam, Abomasnow!" Eric countered.

The attacks met in the middle of the field and exploded, flecks of ice and ash flying out from their collision.

"Now Abomasnow, Mega Evolve!" Eric shouted and touched his keystone, set in a badge on his jacket.

"Keystone, respond to my heart! Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" Alain cried. He touched his keystone and Charizard Mega Evolved. "Now use Dragon Claw!"

Charizard surged off the ground and streaked down the field, its claws beginning to glow green.

"Use Blizzard!" Eric ordered.

Charizard hesitated at Eric's command, waiting for a counter command from Alain, but it never came. His mind had clouded suddenly, thinking of a similar battle he'd fought against a Mega Scizor when he'd been fighting with his keystone on the line. Alain could think of no commands to give his Pokemon in time, and Charizard took the Blizzard attack full on. The Flame Pokemon roared as it took the damage, bringing Alain's mind back to crystal clarity.

"Flamethrower!" he shouted.

Charizard threw its head back and shot a stream of flame at Abomasnow.

"Intercept with Blizzard!" Eric countered.

Abomasnow releaced the Blizzard attack at Charizard's Flamethrower, but Charizard only flew up higher and slammed it from above. This time it was Abomasnow that roared in pain, but much louder than Charizard had.

When the flames cleared, Alain ordered, "Now Dragon Claw!"

Charizard's claws turned green again, and it went into a steep dive straight for Abomasnow.

Eric shouted, "Quick, Abomasnow, use Grass Whistle!"

Abomasnow closed it's eyes, and a reedy melody floated across the battle field.

"No!" Alain cried, "Pull up Charizard, hurry!"

Charizard tried hard to open its wings and stop its dive, but it wasn't fast enough. The Grass Whistle reached it just as it managed to flare open its wings, and the Flame Pokemon promptly fell asleep. No longer flapping its wings to keep itself air bore, it tipped to one side and plummeted to the ground. The crash it made when it landed audibly shook the ground.

"Not again!" Alain cried in frustration.

"They're wide open, Abomasnow!" Eric shouted. "Use Ice Beam!"

"No, Charizard, get up!" Alain pleaded.

The Ice Beam attack connects, and then another connected, and another.

"Great job, Abomasnow, now let's finish this! Use Blizzard!" Eric ordered.

 _I can't lose here, not in the first battle!_ Alain thought desperately. "Charizard, get up!"

Abomasnow roared and charged its Blizzard attack.

And then Charizard's tail twitched. And one eye opened.

Abomasnow released its attack.

Charizard hauled itself up and roared, flaring its wings at the Ice and Grass type.

For about a second, Alain thought he was dreaming, and Charizard was still asleep. Then he came to and said, "We should have done this in the first place. Use Blast Burn!"

Charizard turned toward the oncoming Blizzard and punched the ground with a claw, an aura of fire surrounding it. The two attacks met inches from Charizard's snout. They struggled for a moment, then exploded. Charizard and Abomasnow both were pushed back. Their attacks were evenly matched.

"They held that off?" Alain said in disbelief. _Charizard's Blast Burn didn't have enough time to charge, or it would have taken them out!_

"Alright Abomasnow! Now use Grass Whistle again!" Eric praised.

"Cover your ears, Charizard!" Alain ordered.

As Abomasnow began to play its reedy tune again, Charizard placed its claws on either side of its head and growled low in its throat to drowned out the sound. The two Pokemon held these positions for several minutes.

"Fine, we'll just hit them anyway. Ice Beam, let's go!" Eric commanded. Abomasnow stopped it's Grass Whistle attack and began to charge an Ice Beam.

Alain started to shout a command to Charizard, but immediately realized he couldn't. The sound of the Grass Whistle had yet to completely die out, and if Charizard took its hands of its ears, it would fall asleep. He clenched his fist and pounded it into his other hand.

Then the solution hit him.

He raised one hand over his head and waved it untill Charizard turned it's head and he had its attention. Then he threw both hands out in front himself, palms outward.

Charizard dipped its head in understanding and with a deafening roar, released a Flamethrower at Abomasnow.

The Flamethrower and Ice Beam met in the middle of the field and struggled for several seconds. Then slowly but steadily, Charizard's Flamethrower began to gain the upper hand.

"Harder Charizard!" Alain urged, even though Charizard still had its ears covered.

With a deafening roar, Charizard broke through the Ice Beam and slammed Abomasnow with a torrent of flames. The Frost Tree Pokemon cried out in pain, then as the smoke from the attack cleared, it toppled over and fainted. In a flash, it reverted to its normal form, and Eric quickly recalled it.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, so Charizard wins! Therefore the victory goes to Alain!" Sidney announced.

Charziard reverted to its normal form and let out something akin to a sigh. Alain walked onto the field and up to his Pokemon. "You did well, Charizard. They were very strong." He reached out to stroke Charizard's head, and Charizard pushed its head into its trainer's hand.

"Char, Char zard," it said tiredly. Alain smiled happily at it, then retuned it to its pokeball.

As he left the field and the next pair came on it, his holocaster rang. It was a short message, and all it said was, _Meet me at the front doors._

Without another thought, he headed to the front doors.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara strode down the hallway, her arms full of sacs of Pokemon food. _Of all the jobs Drake could think of that needed to be done,_ she thought angrily, _he just had to give me the one that smells the worst. Simple job, moving bags of food from one place to another. He just happened to fail to mention that it was spoiled food, and he also just happened to forget to mention that it smells worse than a house full of Gulpin! Thanks Drake, thanks a lot. One of these days, I'll get you back for this._

She'd been moving these bags for most of the morning after breakfast, and by this time was more than fed up with it. Her angry thoughts, however, were only a way to keep her mind off of other things. Things like Alain.

Ever since his harsh words to her last night, she'd racked her brain for anything she had done, anything at all, that would have prompted such a response from him. Nothing she could come up with seemed worth getting that angry over. Maybe it was something someone else had said about her? And if it was Jacklyn who'd said it, she would pay dearly for it. That dirty little Raticate...

The bags in her arms shifted, restengthening the smell and breaking her train of thought. _The sooner I can get done with this job, the better._

She reached the back doors and dumped her load in a dumpster, glad to be rid of it. _Only two or three more trips, and I can move on to something else._ Though she would rather have watched the battles, she knew she'd rather miss them and keep working rather than be around Alain. She didn't want to provoke another round of harsh words if she could help it.

Choosing to go around the long way so as to prolong her time with clean air in front of her, she started down the hallways of the building. She passed an open doorway that led out to the courtyard, and glancing out, spotted Wally battling another male trainer named Harry, who owned a Mega Camerupt. She smiled as her young friend landed a hit on his opponent. _Go get 'em, Wally. Go get 'em, Gallade._

Zara reached the corner of the building that led to the front entrance and rounded it, her mind on Wally's battle. She had taken three steps toward the front door when she froze, then raced back around the corner and planted her back against the inside wall.

 _It's Courtney! How did she get in here?! Is Team Magma attacking?! I've got to get Steven! I've got to get them out! Now!_

"Hello, and welcome to the Mega Evolution Acadamy. May I help you?" The voice was unquestionably Steven's

 _Why in the world is he just talking casually to a member of Team Magma?!_ Zara wondered. _Unless...it's not who I think it is._

Cautiously, she peeked around the corner. Steven stood in front of the main doors, speaking to two women who looked to be in their twenties. Both were dressed in tight, red suits. One had greed hair that came down to her chin, green sunglasses, and neon green lip gloss, but she wasn't the one Zara was interested in. The other one had purple hair cut short in a boy's cut, strange goggles, and bright purple lip gloss.

 _It's definitely not Courtney,_ Zara thought, _but...that shape. And those clothes. And the goggles..._

 _...Could I really have been wrong all these years?_

Zara didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to believe she'd been running from the wrong person for that past eight years. That she'd fought and hid from Team Magma ever since that terrible day for nothing. That she'd been wrong. And worse, that she hadn't thought to look out for these people during those years.

And yet...there was no mistaking it. This had to be the same person that had haunted her nightmares for the last eight years. She looked similar to Courtney, but different too. Both had purple hair, but this woman's was shorter, though in eight years anyone could grow their hair to any length they wanted. Both wore red. Both had very revealing clothing. But all these diferences were things that, at the distance Zara had seen her from, could have been overlooked. But, if it was this woman who she'd seen, that would explain why Courtney consistently denied having anything to do with Zara's parents. And why Zara could never pull any information about it out of her, even by trying to trick her into giving it up. This person must be the woman who had led the attack on her parents and her home.

And here she was, not twenty feet away from her.

Pulling her head back around the corner, she heard one of the women say, "We're here to see our boss, Lysander. We were told he was here."

"He is. Let me go and get him for you," Steven answered politely.

"There is no need, Champion." The voice came from outside the courtyard doors. "I'm already here. But thank you." Adressing the two women, he went on, "Celosia. Bryony. Good, you have arrived."

"Sir," said the green haired one.

"Sir," said the purple haired one.

 _So they work for Lysander. Therefore he's the one that gives them orders, so if nothing changed in the chain of command between that day eight years ago and today, then he must be the one who's responsible for killing my parents! Three whole days of being around him, and I even talked to him! Steven was right all along, there is something strange about him. He must be the leader of a Team. And these women are in the Team too._

 _Wait. Didn't Alain say-_

"You wanted me, Sir?" The voice belonged to Alain. Zara realized he must have come in behind Lysander.

 _-he works for Lysander? He's part of this Team too._

 _Of all the people I could choose to confide in, it happens to be the one person that could hurt me the most. I'm an idiot. Telling anyone in the first place was a foolish choice, especially someone I knew almost nothing about, and who refused to tell me anything about himself. And this explains why he refused to tell me anything. He had to keep his identity a secret untill he could get all the information he needed out of me. He tricked me, and then he tried to ditch me so I wouldn't find out! Well, too bad, I found out anyway!_

 _Now what do I do? I can't tell Steven something's up with them without explaining how I know, so that's out. I don't think I could fight them all off I needed to. That only leaves one choice: stay away from them. Maybe, if I'm careful, I can avoid them the last five days of the seminar. If they don't see me, they can't do anything to me. And after the seminar is over, I can leave and go anywhere I want in Hoenn, without raising a lot of suspicions from Steven. Right, that's what I'll do. I'll just go back to the kitchen, go back to work, and act like nothing ever happened._

"So Champion, where is your assistant today?" Lysander asked. His question drew Zara back to the conversation in the front hall. She poked her head around the corner again and listened intently _. Maybe I can figure out exactly what they want here, and then I can play dumb if they ever ask._

"She's doing odd jobs for the School. Did you need her for something?" Steven replied.

"I wanted to ask her about her parents. You said you didn't know what happened to them."

"Well, it's a bit of a hands-off subject with her, but if you insist, I can call her." As he said this, Zara saw him reach into his pants pocket and pull out his Pokedex Nav. With a jerk, she pulled her head aroud the corner and tried to dash down the hall, but before she had taken three steps, her own Pokedex rang. The sound revibrated down the hall, making her position obvious.

 _So much for staying away from them. Can't run now without raising a lot of suspicions._ But to just walk over there with no means of protection wasn't very smart either. Thinking quickly, she dug a pokeball out of her pocket and tossed it toward the ceiling. In a flash of white light, her Larion appeared. "Larion, I need you to stay by my side for a little while, and have Protect ready to go at a moment's notice."

"Rion? Lar lar." Larion replied.

"Good. Now just follow my lead." With that she started toward the front door, and the people that awaited her.

She and Larion rounded the corner and aproached the group at as slow a pace as Zara dared. It helped that she had chosen a Pokemon that was natually slow, but even then Steven gave her a look as she got closer. "Why do you have your Larion out of its pokeball today, Zara?" he asked when she was standing next to him.

"Well, since Sceptile's the only Pokemon I've been battling with all week, I thought I'd give some of my other Pokemon a chance to stretch their legs," she answered quickly.

"Oh. Alright then."

"What did you need me for?" Zara asked as calmly as she could, trying not to give any hints that she already knew.

"Lysander wanted to ask you a question or two, if that's alright with you."

"I guess so." Turning to face Lysander, and trying to avoid looking at the two women, she said with as much of her usual cheer as she could muster, "Fire away. I can tell you almost anything you'd want to know about the School or Hoenn."

"I'd like to know about your parents," was Lysander's response.

Zara couldn't completely supress the shudder that ran up her spine. "I'd rather not talk about it." _Well, he wasn't lying about wanting to ask me that. And if he wants to know, then I guess Alain hasn't told him about my past yet. Good, I still have that up on them. I guess, even though he is a member of a Team, he still keeps his word._

"I'd like to know what happened to them. The Champion has told me you have said they left on a trip to another region about eight years ago and never returned," Lysander went on.

"Yeah, that's pretty much all there is to it. They left, and I haven't heard from them since."

"Where did they go?"

"Somewhere I couldn't follow them."

"But you know where they went?"

"The general direction, but not exactly." _Yeah, they went to heaven. No idea where that is, other than above me somewhere._

"And where did you live before they left you behind?"

Zara really wanted to lie, but with Steven here listening, she couldn't. "Outside of Fourtree City."

"And what did your parents do for a living?"

"Um...we ran a daycare," Zara answered cautiously, purposely leaving out the fact that it was a Pokemon Daycare. One of the women shifted her position, and Zara flinched involuntarily. "Can we talk about something else, please?" Beside her, Larion growled low in its throat at the woman who'd shifted.

"Of course," Steven answered. "You can go back to work now, if you want."

"I will. See you," Zara tried to say the words with all her normal cheer, but they came out rather forced instead.

Steven frowned as she walked away, but she just turned away from him and kept going as quicky as Larion would let her. _This cannot be happening,_ she thought as she walked away. _My worst nightmare is coming true._

 _How can I stay safe now?_

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain watched Zara walk away, confused. Why had Lysander asked her about her past? He already knew. And why had Zara looked so nervous? Did lying to anyone about her past always unnerve her that much?

 _It doesn't matter. She's none of your concern anymore._

He shook off his thoughts and turned his attention back to Lysander, Celosia, and Bryony.

"Thank you, Champion," Lysander said.

"Your welcome, but, if I may, why did you want to know?" Steven inquired.

"I thought I had known her parents from a long time ago, but perhaps not."

"Oh. If you do remember anything about them, I'm sure Zara would be happy to have you tell her about them. She clearly misses them a great deal. I wish I could help her find them, but I have no idea where to start looking." Steven sighed and looked away. "I have things I need to get back to, but please, make yourselves at home. Hopefully I will see you later on." And with that, the Champion went out to the courtyard.

Lysander watched him leave, then turned to Alain. "I called you here to show you that these two had arrived. They are to help me on a research project here in Hoenn involving the Mega Evolution energy. I ask that you please not disturb them at their work at any time, and they are not to disturb you in your training. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Alain, one more thing." Lysander paused. "You seemed to have a difficult time facing the Abomasnow a minute ago."

Alain looked at the floor. "Sorry, sir. It won't happen again, sir."

"See that it doesn't." Then Lysander turned and left, Celosia and Bryony following him.

Alain stayed where he was in the hallway for several minutes. Unsure of what he wanted to do next, he finnaly went to the training room he'd been in yesterday and brought out Charizard. They trained for hours, only stopping when the whistle for lunch blew. Alain had lunch, fed Charizard, then went back to training. He tried to focus on his Pokemon, but as the day went on it kept getting harder and harder for him to focus. His mind kept slipping to thoughts of Zara, thoughts of Mairin and Chespie, thoughts of Lysander, and finally thoughts of Professor Sycamore. His emotions struggled within him like a hurricane, threatening to burst out at any moment.

 _You have to stay strong for Mairin. Just untill she can smile again. And then, perhaps you can come back and apologize to Zara for what you said._

That thought seemed to calm the storm enough for him to ignore it. Pushing the thoughts aside, again, he went on training.

The afternoon passed quickly. Alain finished his training with Charizard, then worked with his Metang for a while, before deciding to quit and go watch the other students battle. He passed the winner's bracket in the hall as he left the training room, and stopped to see who he would battle tommorow. Scrolling down the list of names he saw he was set to face Dave, and his Mega Salamence. He noticed also that Jacklyn had won her match against Luke and his Mega Pidgeot. Wally had won his match with Harry too, and Astrid had won her match against Mary and her Mega Mawile.

Zara, on the other hand, had yet to fight her match. She was set to face a boy named Derick, who Alain remembered owned an Mega Gyarados.

Alain left the board walked out to the courtyard, only to find, to his surprise, Zara standing in the far trainer's box. Her attention was directed elsewhere, specifically on Derick, who was coming up to his trainer's box, thus Alain was able to slip into the crowd without her seeing him.

"Do you both remember the rules?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes," both trainers answered.

"Then are you ready?"

"Of course!" Derick answered. Zara only nodded.

"Then battle begin!" Phoebe cried, dropping her arm as she spoke.

"Gyarados, let's go!" Derick shouted. He threw a pokeball into the air, and out of it burst Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon roared and tossed its head, clearly pumped for battle.

"Sceptile, at the ready!" Zara shouted and in a flash, Sceptile appeared on the field. It sent it's own powerful roar back at Gyarados, then glared at it.

"Start things strong, Gyarados! Use Crunch!" Derick ordered.

Alain watched as Gyarados's teeth began to glow green and as it charged Sceptile. Neither Zara nor Sceptile blinked as it approached.

When Gyarados was within a few feet, Zara ordered, "Use Detect!"

Sceptile's eyes glowed blue, and it cleanly dodged the attack.

"Use Aqua Tail!" Derick commanded.

Again Gyarados closed in on Sceptile.

"Dodge it!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile leaped into the air as Gyarados pounded it's tail down where the Forest Pokemon had been standing. As it lifted it's head to get up, however, Sceptile slammed down on it from above, driving it into the ground. Once it had successfully face planted Gyarados's head in the ground, it leaped clear of the Water and Flying type and stopped in front of its trainer.

Derick growled in frustration as his Pokemon struggled to pull it's head free of the ground. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a pen and touched the keystone embedded in its end. "Gyarados, Mega Evolve!" His keystone reacted with Gyrados's Mega Stone, and Gyarados Mega Evolved.

Zara also touched her keystone, and shouted, "From the depths of my heart, keystone respond! Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" In a flash, Sceptile Mega Evolved.

Derick smiled as Sceptile completed its Mega Evolution. "Gyarados, use Outrage!"

"Dodge it and use Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered.

Gyarados charged Sceptile, it's full power swirling around it as it charged its Outrage attack. Sceptile waited untill it was within ten feet, then feinted left. Gyarados fell for the trick, and Sceptile leaped right, dodging the Outrage completely. The Grass type's feet hit the ground, and immediately it turned on a dime and leaped back at Gyarados, slicing a Leaf Blade down its long body. Gyarados roared and thrashed as it took the super effective damage. Alain glanced at Zara's face as her Pokemon landed the hit, and it surprised him to see she wasn't smiling. Her face was drawn in what he assumed was concentration, but there was no trace of her usual enjoyment on it.

"Now Dragon Pulse!" Zara cried.

Sceptile flung itself up above Gyarados and shot a Dragon Pulse down at it from above.

"Intercept with Aqua Tail!" Derick ordered.

Gyarados turned around and swam upward toward Sceptile. It's tail glowed blue, and it slammed it's tail into Sceptile's Dragon Pulse. The two attacks exploded, and both Pokemon hung in the air for a moment after the attacks.

"Ice Fang!" Derick commanded.

Gyarados charged Sceptile, it's teeth turning a frosty blue.

Zara's mouth opened to give a command, but as it did, a loud scraping sound, like metal on metal, cut through the noise of the battle. Zara jumped and whirled around, searching for the source of the noise, leaving Sceptile wide open. Gyarados crunched down on the Forest Pokemon, and Sceptile cried out in pain.

Alain glanced around in the crowd to see what had made the noise, and quickly spotted Mary and her Mawile, Mawile holding a metal disk about the size of a pie plate in its jaws. The Steel and Fairy type was running the disk between its teeth to sharpen them, which made a slight scraping noise as it did so. _It must have scraped that disk too hard by accident,_ Alain thought.

Zara whirled back around, and seeing what had happened, scowled angrily. "Sceptile, are you okay?"

"Scep!" Sceptile cried, hauling itself back to its feet.

"Then use Dragon Pulse!"

"Use Crunch!" Derick countered.

Sceptile released a Dragon Pulse as Gyarados charged it yet again. The Water and Dark type crunched down on the Dragon Pulse attack, but this time it couldn't hold its own, and was thrown back, rolling over and over untill it stopped in front of Derick.

"Can you go on Gyarados?" Derick asked. Gyarados raised it's head weakly, and struggled to rise. Zara waited patiently for it to regain its standing position.

"Outrage Gyarados! Full power!" Derick shouted.

"Sceptile, Frenzy Plant!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile plunged it's tail into the ground, and huge roots began to grow around it. They quickly spread toward Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon managed to break through the first several of them, but it was finally overwhelmed by the Grass type move, and flew back from the impact. It struck the back wall of the courtyard and fainted.

"Gyarados, no!" Derick cried.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, so Sceptile wins. Therefore the victory goes-hey, where are you going?" Phoebe asked as Zara recalled Sceptile and ran off the field. "I didn't finish announcing you as the winner!"

"Sorry!" Zara called back to the Ghost type master, but she didn't stop running. Alain watched her leave feeling even more confused. Why had she stopped paying attention to her battle because of a screech made by a Mawile's jaws on a piece of metal?.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara tore past the doors to the courtyard as fast as she dared to go. She felt foolish, letting a simple sound like that scare her out of her wits. What was she thinking, that it was Lysander sharpening a weapon? Even though she was being sarcastic with herself, the thought scared her even more.

 _What is Steven going to think of me now? I never usually mess up like that during a battle! How am I going to explain to him why I looked away at the sound? I can't tell him why I really jumped, because I was afraid someone was going to attack me from behind. Or worse, from above. Suppose I can just tell him I made a mistake and hope he buys it. Everyone makes mistakes._

She let her shoulders sag as she climbed the stairs to her room. No longer did she feel happy about the seminar or her training. Only one thought filled her mind as she plodded up the steps: How can I protect myself?

She made it to her room, went in, and shut the door firmly. There she stayed for the next three hours, refusing to go out for anything, even supper. Her fear of being caught by one of the women from earlier surpassed her need for food.

It wasn't untill the sun had long past set and all was quiet out in the hallway that Zara cracked open her door. Peering out, all senses on high alert, she crept down the hall untill she reached Wally's room then turned and walked back. Nothing happened. No one jumped out to grab her, no one tried to hit her over the head, no doors opened in the hall.

 _Well, if no one is even out looking for me down here tonight, then maybe it wound be safe to go up the roof for a little while!_ Zara though hopefully. Quickly she dashed back into her room, pried open her window, and jumped from the sill to the roof in one graceful bound.

Once she looked around and ensured that no one, specifically Alain, was up there already, she released her Sceptile and settled down.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain lay on his back, staring at the ceiling of his room. Gordon wasn't there, thankfully, he'd gone off to find Brittney, so the room was quiet. Alain thought he would have preferred noise. The quiet only gave him more opportunities to think.

Ever since Zara's strange behavior during her battle, he'd thought more and more about what he'd said last night. He hated himself for making her upset, and here it was ten times worse, since he couldn't just leave her behind. Lysander's orders were for him to stay away from her, but they were also for him to stay at the seminar. He couldn't just run from the person he'd hurt this time.

He finally decided to go out on the fire escape and see if he could watch her without her noticing. That wouldn't be disobeying Lysander, and he might be able to figure out why Zara was acting so strange.

Alain rolled out of his bed and walked out to the fire escape. Stepping as quietly as his boots would allow, he reached the door and pushed it open. The door slid open about a foot, and Alain had one foot through when it scraped the metal of the fire escape outside. He froze, unsure whether Zara had heard him or not. When nothing happened, he eased the door open a bit more, this time lifting it up to keep it off the floor. It didn't make another sound. Alain slipped out and shut the door in the same manner, then released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He had made it out without Zara hearing him!

"And just what do you want?"

Alain jumped at the sound. Alright, maybe he hadn't made it after all. He backed up a few steps and looked up. Zara stood on the roof above the fire escape, looking down at him. Her face was hard and cold, and her hands were on her hips. "I said, what do you want?" she repeated.

"Nothing," Alain replied shortly, and put out his hand to open the door again.

"Come now, we both know that's not true. What do you really want up here? Or should I be asking what do you really want with me?"

"Scep Sceptile!" Sceptile added behind her.

Alain felt the pokeballs in his pocket shift, and suddenly Charizard burst out of its pokeball and began to hover just off the fire escape.

Alain frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb with me. I know why those two women are here, why Lysander's here, why you're here, why you were acting friendly with me, and why you told me to leave you alone."

"You do?" _How did she find out about Lysander's order to stay away from her? And how does she know what Celosia and Bryony are here for?_

"Mmm-hmm," Zara said slowly, never taking her eyes off Alain. "Training and gathering Mega Evolution energy for peaceful purposes, huh? Protecting people you care about by helping Lysander, huh? My foot! You liar!" she shouted.

Alain stepped back at the change in her tone, alarmed and angered. _I didn't lie to her about anything!_ "What are you talking about?"

"I said not to play dumb with me. It's too late for that now. The only reason you helped me and tried to be friendly with me is to get me to tell you my secrets! You tried to learn everything you could about me so you could find a way to get whatever it is you want out of me, and then you dumped me so I wouldn't figure out what you were up to. And just in time for you purple and green haired friends to show up, too."

Alain could only stare at her in confusion. He had no idea what she was talking about, but she definately seemed angry about it. "Celosia and Bryony are here to help-"

"To help you finish your mission, capturing me, I know. You lied to me about everything. I'm a fool for telling you about myself and my past. I'm actually surprised you didn't lie about promising to keep my story a secret, but..."

Alain's eyes twitched as she said this. He couldn't help it, he felt slightly guilty for telling Lysander about her past.

"Wait, you told them?" Zara said. Though kept her expression nuetral, she didn't keep the waver out of her voice. "You told them?!" she repeated, her voice rising in pitch.

Alain slowly looked away from her cold eyes, and looked down at his feet. That was enough and an answer for Zara.

"But, if you told them, then why did Lysander ask me-," she broke off and looked away from Alain for a moment, before looking back, her cold gaze redoubled in strength. She jumped from the roof to the rail of the fire escape without taking her eyes off him. When she was within arms length of him, she said in a deadly quiet voice, a voice that he had only heard you use with Jacklyn, "I don't know what you want with me, but whatever you do, remember this: you broke your promise, you Seviper, and I will never, ever forgive that." Her voice cracked with emotion, anger and fear Alain thought ,as she said the last words. Then without any warning, she put out her hand and slapped him across the face.

Alain recolled from the slap, putting a hand up to his face where her hand had struck him. His face stung around his left eye, but he said nothing. He probably deserved that, even if he didn't like it.

Behind him Charizard roared at Zara in fury, and lifted a claw possibly to attack her. It hadn't come within a yard of her when Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse at it. Charizard fell back and looked at Sceptile angrily. Sceptile roared an ear spliting roar at it, rage burning in its eyes. Alain covered his ears at the sound, but Zara didn't move.

Rising to her full height, Zara said slowly and deliberatly, "You told me this yesterday, and now I'm telling you: Leave me alone. I don't want to have anything to do with you ever again." She leaped back to the roof and turned her back on him. "Just go," she whispered, then turned and walked down the roof, her thick soled shoes tapping against its metal with every step. Sceptile glared at Charizard again, then followed her.

Dazed, Alain recalled Charizard and went back inside and to his room. None of what she had said made sense. Except for the breaking his promise part, he had no idea what she had been talking about. Him a liar? His mission to capture her? Only being friendly to learn her secrets? None of that was true. And what difference did it make if he told Lysander about her past? His boss had promised not to tell anyone else, and he would be going back to Kalos at the end of the seminar, just like Alain, never to interact with Team Magma again.

Still, he had broken his promise.

He finally gave up trying to figure it out and went to bed, doing his best to ignore Gordon's snoring. Sleep came, but it was less troubled tonight, and more purely jumbled up. _Now at least you don't have to apologize to her,_ he thought just before he blacked out.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara sat on the roof in the dark, Sceptile at her back, her pitchpipe in her hands. Tears slipped down her face silently, unbidden. _What do I do now? They all know who I am and where I'm from. I don't have anything up on them after all. What are they going to do to me? Blow me up too?_

Sceptile moved closer to its trainer and growled protectively. "Scep tile tile."

Zara sniffed and rapped her arm around her Pokemon's neck. "I know you'll protect me Sceptile. Thank you." She leaned back against it and sighed. The pitchpipe she put back in her pocket. She didn't feel like singing tonight. There was no reason to sing.

"We just have to make it five days, and then we can leave," she repeated to herself for the twenty-fifth time. She knew it was, she'd counted.

The night dragged on, and Zara eventually went down through her window and to her bed. Sleep came, but instead of crying herself to sleep, she worried untill she was exhusted. She slipped into troubled sleep with an image of Alain's Charizard blasting things with Flamethrower reigning in her mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **So what did you all think? Did I do alright with this chapter?**

 **Also, if there is anyone in particular you would like to see Alain, or Zara, or Wally, or anyone else for that matter, face during the competition, let me know in a review.** **Please review, even if you don't have a match up you want to see!**


	12. And Your Mission Is

And Your Mission Is...

Lysander sat in his room, once again sifting through papers and other pieces of information. This time his digital clock read 11:39.

A knock on the door sounded, then another two shorter knocks.

"Come in," Lysander said.

The door opened, and Bryony and Celosia entered the room.

"Have you decided on a location?" Lysander asked them as soon as the door was shut.

"Yes, sir," Celosia replied, "we have found a room on the second floor that will suit our needs perfectly."

"Good. And you have brought everything that you will require?"

"Everything we need, but in limited quantities," Bryony answered. "There was no way to get as much of our supplies as we would have liked onto the plane without risking something breaking and starting a reaction."

Lysander regarded her with his usual emotionless expression. "But it is enough?"

"It is," she replied, "we just can't waste any."

"Very well. How long do you require to set up all of this equipment and supplies?"

"Two days, at the very least," Celosia answered.

"Two days is all you may have. We must have time to procure the information we need and run some tests before this seminar is over in five days."

"Sir," Celosia said, dipping her head respectfully.

"Bryony, I'm putting you in charge of this. Do not mess it up, " Lysander said. Celosia scowled at her but said nothing. "You know your mission. To gather mineral. That girl you saw today with the Champion is the daughter of the scientists Celosia killed almost eight years ago. Do what ever you deem necessary to capture the girl and get her to tell you where the mineral deposit her parents were studying is."

"Anything, Sir?" Bryony said raising an eyebrow over the rim of her goggles.

"Anything. Only make sure you get the location out of her."

"Sir. And what should we do with her once she spills the location?"

"Take her back to Lysander Labs. I'm sure Xerosic can find a use for her."

"What should we tell the Champion and the Elite Four has happened to her?"

"Leave that to me."

"Sir."

"And what if she won't talk?" Celosia asked, her face still scowling.

"I'm confident you will find a way to make her see that talking is her best option," Lysander replied.

Celosia's face lost its scowl and she almost smiled. "Yes, Sir."

"Good," Lysander said, and went back to sifting through his papers. "You are dismissed."

The two scientists left the room, closing the door soundlessly behind them. In the silence that followed, Lysander smiled, his eyes narrowed to slits. Only a matter of time now...


	13. Plaster Disaster

Day 10: Plaster Disaster

Morning found Zara exactly where last night had left her: on the roof. She had woken up at five o'clock sharp, and, unable to fall back asleep, had gone out the window and up top. But not to relax and wait for the day to start. To train.

"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse! Lairon, Dragon Rush!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile threw it's head back and shot its Dragon Pulse at Lairon. Lairon jumped into the air and charged the attack, the energy of a Dragon Rush swirling around it. The attacks collided and exploded.

"Good job, you two!" Zara praised. "Now Sceptile, Leaf Blade! Lairon, Iron Head!"

Again the two attacks connected and exploded.

Zara glanced at her watch as her Pokemon fell back from their attacks. Seven fourty-five.

"Okay guys, I think that's enough for now. We'll work more later. Return," and she held up two pokeballs. Sceptile and Lairon disappeared in two flashes of red light.

Zara put the pokeballs back in her pocket and reached for her backpack, drawing an apple and a bag of chips out if it. Sitting down at the edge of the roof and letting her feet hang over, she bit into the apple. The food she'd snuck out of the kitchen earlier this morning, so she would have something to eat without having to go to breakfast. Suspicious, perhaps, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd skipped a meal to train for an upcoming battle.

Zara quickly finished the apple and chips, but they didn't satiate her hunger. Skipping supper last night and breakfast this morning had taken a toll on her. But she couldn't let that distract her. Pushing her hunger to the back of her mind, she focused on the day ahead.

Any minute now, students would come pouring out the side door to watch the days battles and wait for their own turns. All she had to do was climb down the fire escape, go back inside and down the stairs, and out to the courtyard with them, and nothing would seem amiss to Steven and the Elite Four.

But she didn't want to go down. Going down to the courtyard only meant putting herself in harm's way, letting herself be seen, therefore giving the two women an opportunity to follow her, and putting strain on her nerves.

But perhaps there was nothing to be worried about in the first place. For all she knew, the reason Lysander and his two, no wait, she'd forgotten Alain again, three minions were here might not involve her at all. They might just be interested in the school. Or in the Mega Evolution energy used here.

 _Yeah, right._

She looked down at the field again and spotted movement. _Time to go._ Slinging her backpack over one shoulder, she clambered down from the roof and went out to the field.

Wally was waiting for her when she arrived. "Hey Zara!" he exclaimed cheerfully as soon as he saw her.

"Hey Wally," she said back, trying to be just as cheerful, but not quite succeeding.

"What happened to you last night?" Wally asked. Zara tensed at his question. The last person on earth she wanted to lie to was Wally, but he was treading on thin ice. "I missed you at supper," Wally went on.

Zara quickly pulled together a plan. She glanced around to make sure no one would overhear, then bent down and whispered in his ear, "I was hiding from someone."

"Really?" Wally asked, wide-eyed. "Who?"

"Alain." When Wally opened his mouth, she covered it with one hand and went on. "He lied to me about something, and I didn't want to confront him about it during supper. But do me a favor. Don't tell anyone about what I said, okay? And it wouldn't hurt if you stayed away from him too. He doesn't seem to be the most trustworthy person ever."

Wally didn't answer, only nodded his head and looked away at the crowd. Zara followed his gaze till her eyes came to rest on Alain. He looked up, and Zara quickly looked away, not wanting to make eye contact.

From across the battle field, Glacia said, "Would Gordon and Brittney please step up to the field."

The two named trainers separated from the group and stepped into the trainer's boxes.

"Are you both ready?" Glacia asked.

"Yes," they both said, but neither of them looked very ready.

"Then battle begin!" Glacia shouted.

Gordon sent out his Glalie, and Brittney sent out her Baynette. They fought a long battle, both of them repeatedly having a chance to land the finishing blow, but neither willing to do it. Finally, Glalie took Baynette out with a Crunch. Baynette fainted and Brittney recalled it, Gordon apologizing profusely for beating her.

 _He must really like her to feel so bad about beating her in the competition,_ Zara thought.

Next up, Alain and Dave.

As the two boys stepped up to the trainer's boxes, Zara thought she saw a flicker of movement through one of the second story windows. _Is that Sidney? What is he doing on the second floor?_

"Are you both ready?" Glacia asked the trainers.

"Ready," they both answered.

"Then battle begin!" Glacia shouted.

Zara stared hard at the window, willing whatever it was to show itself again, and hoping desperately that it wouldn't and she could say she imagined it.

A flash of color appeared again. White color, not red, thankfully. But still, what was it?

 _Go get Steven,_ her mind told her, _he'll know what it is, or what to do._

Not giving it a second thought, she turned and raced for the courtyard backdoor.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Alain stood in his trainer's box, Dave across the field from him. His mind was still crowded with confused thoughts about Zara's behavior last night. He didn't understand why she'd called him a liar. Yes, he would admit he had broken his promise about keeping her secret, but obeying and helping Lysander was more important than a single person's well being, even if it was Zara. But he had never lied to her about anything. He never lied to anyone.

 _Just fight your battle,_ he thought, _it'll clear your head for a while at least._

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted. Charizard burst onto the field flaring its wings as it landed and stirring up dust. Across the field from him, Dave already had his Salamence out in front of him. Alain knew from the stat boost challange that Salamence was powerful. Not an opponent to be messed around with. Then again, none of the competitors were.

"Salamence, Mega Evolve!" Dave cried, touching his keystone. Salamence roared as its Mega Stone reacted and in Mega Evolved.

"Alright, Charizard, Mega Evolve!" Alain shouted, touching his own keystone. Charizard also roared as it Mega Evolved.

When the Mega Evolution was complete, and the rainbow colored symbol flashed in front of Charizard, Dave ordered, "Use Flamethrower!"

"Flamethrower, Charizard!" Alain shouted.

The two Flamethrowers met mid-field and exploded.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

"Dragon Claw!" Dave commanded.

Both Dragon types took to the air, and met in a clash of wings and claws. They slashed and slashed at each other, but both countered every swipe, and neither took any hits. They quickly broke apart, seeing it was useless to keep trying to hit the other one.

As Salamence and Charizard flapped away from each other, Dave ordered, "Steel Wing, let's go!"

Salamence roared and its wings grew and turned a slivery color. Flapping them once, it charged Charizard, aiming to strike it across the chest.

"Intercept with Thunder Punch," Alain ordered.

Charizard drew back one claw untill electricity crackled on it, the streaked forward to meet Salamence. It struck Salamence's right wing, and the two Pokemon struggled for a moment. Charizard won out in the end, aided by its ability, Tough Claws, and set Salamence flying back toward Dave with its Thunder Punch.

Salamence tumbled throught the air, then as it reached its trainer, righted itself and turned back to Charizard.

"Flamethrower!" Dave shouted.

A stream of flame left Salamence's mouth.

"Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.

Charizard intercepted the flames from Salamence with its own, and they exploded. Smoke blew over the battle field from the blast.

"Fly up Salamence!" Dave ordered when the smoke got so thick both trainers lost sight of their Pokemon.

Salamence shot into the air, quickly clearing the top of the smoke cloud, and starting to circle the field.

Alain studied it for a moment, then ordered, "Flamethrower straight up Charizard!"

Charizard threw its head back and shot a stream of flame into the smoke. Salamence, who had been waiting for Charizard to fly up to it, was caught off guard by the move, and took the Flamethrower full in the chest. It faltered in its flight but didn't fall, roaring as the flames continued to pound it.

"Hyper Beam!" Dave shouted up to his Pokemon.

Salamence threw its head back and fired it attack straight down at the Flamethrower. The Normal turned Flying type attack cut through the Fire type one like it was nothing. Alain had no time to warn his Pokemon, and Charizard had no time to move. The Hyper Beam struck it, and exploded.

Alain heard Charizard roar in pain, and he gritted his teeth.

The dust cloud flew even higher this time than it had when the Flamethrowers had exploded. Salamence, at Dave's command, flew even higher, surpassing the top of the building. It couldn't attack, needing to recharge after the Hyper Beam, but it watched the cloud anxiously for Charizard so it could dodge.

Alain watched Salamence closely. "Charizard, are you alright?"

"Char," Charizard growled in responce.

"Good," Alain said to himself. "Dragon Claw!"

He couldn't see it, but he heard Charizard's wing beats as the Fire type took to the air. It shot out of the dust cloud and charged Salamence. Salamence reared back when it saw Charizard, but couldn't change direction fast enough and got its wings sliced by Charizard's Dragon Claw.

As Salamence fell back from the Dragon Claw, Dave shouted up to it, "Dragon Claw!"

The Dragon and Flying type twisted and sliced its own claws down Charizard's side. The Flame Pokemon roared in fury and pain.

Both Dragon types turned in the air to face each other. "Flamethrower!" both of their trainers shouted. Both Pokemon fired Flamethrowers at each other. They intercepted and struggled for several seconds, before Charizard's Flamethrower broke through and again slammed Salamence with a torrent of flames.

Salamence faltered as it took the attack, then rolled over mid-air, and fell to the ground, landing with a loud crash.

"Salamence, no!" Dave shouted.

"Char!" Charizard shot down at it when it landed.

Dust again covered the field, thus they had to wait for it to clear to see if Salamence had fainted. But Alain wasn't sure it had. "Charizard, be ready to-"

"Salamence, look toward the roof and use Hyper Beam!" Dave shouted. Salamence roared, and out of the dust came its bright white Hyper Beam. By the time the attack was visible in the cloud, Charizard didn't have time to dodge. It took the attack full on, and as the explosion sounded across the field, Alain saw his Pokemon fall from out of the smoke and hit the ground next to Salamence. _No, you have to survive that hit!_ he thought.

More dust, but this time a breeze blew over the field and blew it away. On the now visible field, Salamence stood over Charizard, pinning its wings to the ground. Alain's mind shot to his battle with Malva, and he shouted, "Flamethrower, now, Charizard!"

Charizard blasted Salamence with flames, and the Dragon Pokemon releaced its hold. Taking off, it flew higher and higher, trying to put some distance between it and its opponent. Charizard hauled itself up and took off in hot pursuit.

Salamence tried hard to get away from Charizard, but despite Dave's urging, it was simply too tired to get away fast enough. Charizard caught up to it easily, despite its own tiredness.

"Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered.

"Dragon Claw!" Dave countered.

Salamence and Charizard intercepted each other and struggled. First Charizard gained a few inches and Alain thought it would break through, then Salamence would gain ground and Alain thought he was about to lose. Finally, Salamence couldn't hold up any longer, Charizard struck its opponent, and it was all over. Salamence roared and plummited, fainting and reverting to its normal form before it even hit the ground.

"Salamence is unable to battle, so Charizard wins. Therefore the victory goes to Alain," Glacia announced.

Alain's expression didn't change, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. _Salamence was stronger than I expected. But I still won._

Walking out onto the field, he said, "We did it Charizard," and reached out to rub his Pokemon's head.

"Zard," Charizard answered tiredly. Alain returned it to its pokeball and headed for the Pokemon Center. _Now what was I thinking about before? Right, Zara calling me a liar. I didn't forget about that for long._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Zara raced down the second floor hallway, every sense alert. Unable to locate Steven or the rest of the Elite Four, she'd decided to investigate the strange white something herself. Now she was starting to regret having come.

Thus far she'd searched ever room on the inside of this half of the building with no success. Nothing unusual hid in these rooms, only paint cans and pieces of broken plaster. She opened the next door slowly, and peeked in. Nothing but dust. _Maybe I just imagined that white thing..._

Next to her, Lairon jerked it's head up and growled softly.

Zara jumped and followed it's gaze. Around the corner, shadows danced on the wall. Someone was coming.

Without wasting a second, Zara opened the door wide and practically pushed Lairon into the room. She followed, and closed the door behind her.

Footsteps tapped the tile floor outside, coming closer and closer to Zara's hiding place. When they stopped, she guessed they were in front of the door next to hers, but she didn't dare open the door to find out for sure.

Voices started talking out in the hall. From what she could hear, it sounded like there was at least one male and one female speaking. Zara leaned over to the door and pressed her ear against it.

"...dumping it in this room here. Nothing should seem out of place, considering its all plaster." That was the feminine voice.

"And your work space?" That was the masculine voice.

"Completely cleared."

"How far behind have you fallen because of this?"

"Only...or two" Zara couldn't make out everything she said through the door.

"Hurry. I don't like waiting on something so importaint."

There was no responce, but Zara assumed the woman had nodded or shook her head.

"Once you have finished and have obtained...call...tell you how to set the sensors in your...locate what we are after. She may even have...on her."

 _What are they talking about? Who are they talking about? Who am I listening too?_ Zara wondered.

"Sir," the feminine voice answered.

Zara started, and beside her Lairon growled protectively at her movement. Covering her Pokemon's mouth, and her own mouth too, with her hands, she thought, _This is Lysander and one of the women! What if they heard Lairon? What if they open the door?_

 _That's easy. Then I'm toast!_

"What was that?" Lysander asked.

"Probably noises from the battle taking place. These walls don't have any real insulation in them yet, so you can hear lots of things from down in the courtyard," the woman answered.

No response for several tense seconds, then, "Very well. I'll leave you to it."

Footsteps tapped on the floor again, one set going one direction, the other set going the other direction. Then silence.

A full minute after the sound died away, Zara let out the breath she'd been holding, released Lairon, and sank to the floor in relief. Her heart hammered away in her chest still, but now she could breath properly.

 _Thank my lucky stars that Steven didn't put much insulation in these walls! Never is when I will ever put myself in a position where that could happen again!_ she yelled mentally. _I knew better, and yet I just had to come and see what was going on here. Whatever, I can criticize myself later. I need to get out of here._

Returning Lairon to its pokeball, she eased the door open and peeked out. Nothing. The hall was empty of both movement and sound. Zara eased the door open wider untill she could slide out, then closed it behind her and bolted for the stairs.

When she made it back down to the courtyard, Alain was gone and Wally was battling Astrid. The noise they made shook the trees in the courtyard, but didn't break Zara from her worried thoughts.

 _Who does Lysander want those two to call? What are they doing with plaster? What are they looking for?_

 _Maybe they aren't after me. But if not me, then what?_ Nothing came to mind.

 _Well, no matter what, I'm going back up there with Steven and showing him that room those two were standing in front of. Whatever they're hiding in there that involves plaster, I'll find out soon enough._

Her mind made up, Zara sat down at the edge of the courtyard near the door to watch Wally's battle. The green haired trainer fought long and hard with his Gallade, but in the end, Astrid won out, taking Gallade down with a Dark Pulse.

Wally recalled Gallade, and left the field looking very disappointed. Zara couldn't blame him. _At least he won his first battle,_ she thought.

The whistle for lunch blew, and she rose to meet Wally and went inside with him. Her stomach rumbled as the smell of food enveloped her, earning her an amused look from Wally, but she didn't care. She sat with her friend, talked with him, encouraged him after his loss, and got seconds and thirds. Everything seemed almost back to normal, and the cheerfulness she showed around her yound friend was no longer forced, but heart felt.

But unfortunately, as all good things must, it came to an end.

Lysander, the two women in red, and Alain walked in as Zara was sitting down with her third tray of food. She looked up as Alain came in, and caught his eye completely by accident. She looked away quickly, but she could still feel his burning gaze on her the whole time he was in line. She kept her attention focused on her plate, doing her best to ignore everything, including the fresh fear that had welled up insider her.

"Zara? Zara!"

Wally calling her name forced her to pull her attention back to her suroundings.

"Zara? Are you okay?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she answered.

"Are you sure? You've been acting strange lately." When she didn't answer, he went on, "Is it about Alain?"

Tears formed in Zara's eyes, but she forced them back. _This is exactly why I never told you about any of my past. Because I didn't want to talk about it, and I didn't want to be reminded of it._ "Not exactly, Wally. Just forget I said anything about it."

"But I want to help you feel better. It's what you do for me."

"No, just forget it. I'm fine, really." And she sat up straighter and smiled as brightly as she could.

Wally didn't look very convinced, but he went back to eating without pressing the issue anymore. Zara sighed inwardly and finished her food as fast as she could. She left, leaving Wally by himself, and went back outside to get away from everyone.

Everyone didn't stay inside for much longer. It wasn't fifteen minutes before all the other students, exceplt for Wally it seemed, filed back outside and filled the courtyard with a lot of general noise. Zara thankfully didn't see either of the women in the crowd, but Alain had come out, as had Lysander. She made sure to stay as far away from them as possible.

Glaica stepped up to the field and announced, "Will Zara and Flash please step up to the field."

Zara tore her attention away from Lysander, and cautiously approached a trainer's box. Someone sneezed, and she involuntarily jumped at the sound. Forcing herself to relax, angered thoughts crossed her mind, at herself for being so tense and at this Team for showing up in the first place.

 _Forget it,_ she thought, _just focus on your battle. They won't try and nab you here in front of everyone._

Across the field, Flash had taken his position and set out his Ampharos. "Sceptile at the ready!" she cried, throwing Sceptile's pokeball into the air _._ The Forest Pokemon hit the ground with a _thump_ , and looked back at its trainer with concern in its eyes.

"Scep tile tile?" Sceptile asked, pointing at the second story with its snout.

Zara only held up a hand to stop it, and shook her head at her Pokemon. _No, Sceptile, it's nothing to worry about. Nothing happened up there, just got into a sticky situation. But I'm fine._ All these thoughts she tried to convey in her look, but couldn't be sure if she accomplished what she was aiming for.

In response, Sceptile dipped its head and turned back to its opponent.

"Are you both ready?" Glacia asked.

Zara thought, _As ready as I'm going to get,_ as she nodded to Glacia. Across from her, Flash nodded too.

"Then battle begin!"

"Ampharos, Discharge!" Flash shouted.

Ampharos leaped into action, jumping into the air and curling in on itself, shooting volts of electricity all over the field.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered. Sceptile hesitated at her command for a fraction of a second before charging into the Electric type move and slicing through it. It fought off several of the volts before it was overwelmed and fell back, leaving deep gashes where it held onto the ground for support.

Sceptile looked over its shoulder at Zara as when it recovered from the attack. _Yes Sceptile, I know that you would have been immune to it if you had Mega Evolved,_ Zara thought, _b_ _ut they don't. And if they hit us now and it connects, they won't have any idea why it won't work after you Mega Evolve. Thus, you had to take one Electric type hit for this plan to work. And after all, it isn't very effective._

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Flash ordered.

"Intercept with Dragon Pulse!" Zara countered.

Both Pokemon fired their rainbow colored attacks at each other. They exploded, both Pokemon remaining unscathed.

"From the depths of my heart, keystone respond! Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara shouted, touching her keystone in her Mega Bracelet, and flinging her arm out beside her as it reacted. Her stance mirrored Steven's when he Mega Evolved his Metagross. Sceptile's Mega Stone reacted to her keystone, and the Grass type Mega Evolved. "Dragon Pulse, let's go!" she ordered.

"Electro Ball!" Flash countered.

The attacks met mid-field, Sceptile's Dragon Pulse quickly breaking through the Electro Ball and driving Ampharos backward. The Light Pokemon cried out in pain.

Flash cringed at the sound, then touched his own keystone and shouted, "Ampharos, Mega Evolve now!" His keystone reacted with Ampharos's Mega Stone, and the Electric type Mega Evolved. "Use Discharge!" Flash commanded.

Neither Zara nor Sceptile so much as blinked and Ampharos released the attack. The electric surge grew around the Light Pokemon, then just as quickly as it was generated, flew straight at Sceptile. The Forest Pokemon turned its head and fixed one eye on Zara, who nodded ever so slightly. At her nod, Sceptile fell to one knee and groaned as if it were in pain.

"Good job, Ampharos! Now, Dragon Pulse!" Flash ordered.

"Dodge it!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile danced out of the way of the Dragon Pulse, ducking and dodging the wings of the attack. But as it cleared the move and turned to take on Ampharos, Flash ordered, "Use Electro Ball!"

As soon as Ampharos released the Electro Ball, it zipped straight for Sceptile, almost as if Ampharos had used Lock On the turn before. Sceptile took the attack full in the chest, but there was no explosion, nor was there any other sign that it had taken damage. At another nod from Zara, Sceptile flipped head over heels backward toward her and landed on the ground on all fours, to make it seem like it had been knocked back from the attack.

"Use Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile jumped up and charged Ampharos, the leaves on its arms growing into green blades.

"Stop them. Discharge!" Flash countered.

Ampharos shouted it's name as it released the blast of electricity. The move zipped across the field straight for Sceptile, but this time Zara didn't nod to it. Sceptile raced through the bolts of electricity, absorbing them all one by one without even slowing.

"What's going on?" Flash asked aloud, confusion and panic in his voice. "Why aren't they taking any damage?"

By the time he finished saying that, Sceptile had reached Amparos and struck it across the face and chest with each of its Leaf Blades. The Light Pokemon let out something akin to a scream and flew backward, stopping just in front of Flash. Sceptile stood where Ampharos had been, power eminating from it.

"Wait a minute, its gotten stronger from our attacks, not weaker," Flash observed. Suddenly, understanding shown in his eyes. "Its ability is Lightning Rod!"

Zara didn't respond to Flash's guess, but a smile spred slowly across her face. That was all the answer Flash needed. His hands clenched into fists in anger as he shouted, "Ampharos, Dragon Pulse!"

"Dodge it, then Dragon Pulse, Sceptile!" Zara countered.

Sceptile dashed forward, leaped gracefully around Ampharos's Dragon Pulse, and fired its own rainbow colored attack.

"Cotton Guard!" Flash commanded.

Just before Sceptile's Dragon Pulse struck it, Ampharos put up a soft looking green barrier all around it. The Dragon Pulse connected, but Ampharos didn't take nearly as much damage from it as it otherwise would have.

"Dragon Pulse again Ampharos!"

"Detect, Sceptile!"

Sceptile dodged the Dragon Pulse and stopped with only one eye fixed on Ampharos, the other fixed on Zara.

"Use Frenzy Plant!" Zara ordered.

"Intercept with Dragon Pulse!" Flash ordered.

Both Pokemon fired their attacks, but the Frenzy Plant easily overpowered the Dragon Pulse, and Ampharos cried out as it was struck over and over by the huge roots growing our from Sceptile's tail. The combined effect of the move's power, plus Sceptile's raised attack, soon over powered the Light Pokemon, and a roaring explosion split the air around the field.

As the dust from the explosion settled, it became clear Ampharos had not fainted. When you could see the Electric and Dragon type's head, Flash ordered, "Use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"

Ampharos released a Dragon Pulse, and it hit the ground, stirring up a huge cloud of thick dust. Zara couldn't see anything. Even the light of the sun started to get patchy.

"Sceptile? Can you hear me?" Zara called out.

"Scep!" Sceptile answered.

 _So it can hear me, we both just can't see anything. If I thought I wouldn't have to watch my back, I'd close my eyes, but I don't dare. Who knows what might happen if I did._

"Dragon Pulse!" Flash ordered, and before Zara could figure out where the attack was coming from, it hit Sceptile full on.

"Don't let them recover! Dragon Pulse!" Flash ordered again.

"Sceptile, use Detect!" Zara commanded.

Sceptile dodged the attack, but Zara could only barely make our it's siloute in the dust. _This will not work. I can't order Sceptile to dodge if neither of us can see what were dodging, and I just used up my only guaranteed dodge by ordering Detect. I need this dust to settle, but that's going to take too much time. Unless...well, I don't normally battle with that style, but considering the circumstances, I don't see a better solution._ "Sceptile, Frenzy Plant!" she cried, "And give it everything you've got!" _If I can't see to hit them for sure, I'll sent a strong move in from every direction._

Sceptile plunged its tail into the ground, roaring as it released the powerful Grass type move. The huge roots surged out from its tail, swiping through the dust and stirring it up even more. If Zara had been on the other side of the dust cloud, she would have seen Ampharos trying to dodge by running in every direction, only to be stopped by huge roots, and Flash shouting pointless orders that didn't help anyone.

When the dust finally settled, Ampharos lay in front of Flash, knocked out. It flashed and reverted to its normal form, mumbling it's name weakly as it did.

"Ampharos is unable to battle, so Sceptile wins! Therefore the victore goes to Zara!" Glacia announced.

Flash recalled Ampharos and headed for the Pokemon center. Glacia left the courtyard as well. Zara, however, left Sceptile out of its pokeball as she headed off the field and out of the courtyard.

As she pushed her way through the crowd, Zara suddenly felt acutely aware of a cold gaze resting on her. A quick look over her shoulder confirmed her suspicion. Lysander was staring at her. But the thing the really made Zara's hair stand on end was his expression. Instead of his normal, expressionless face, he wore a calm, cold smile. It was the same sort of smile that Zara had seen Maxie or Courtney wear when they had a battle-deciding trick up their sleeve. The sort of smile they wore when they knew they were going to win.

Pressing on toward the door even faster, Zara snapped her fingers and Sceptile moved closer to her. They were three steps away from the door when someone snickered. Zara whirled to face the group of students, scanning the crowd for the person who had made the noise. Sceptile stepped out of her line of vision and off to the side.

Slowly, every student turned to face Zara and Sceptile. After an initial moment of confused silence, Carl asked, "What? Glameow got your tongue, Zara?"

Some of the students chuckled. _Just leave,_ Zara thought, _the only thing standing here is accomplishing is making you look suspicious._ She took a step backward and reached for the door handle.

That's when everything went crazy.

One minute she was standing in front of the door, the next she found herself upside down, hanging from a place above her by her right ankle, all the blood rushing to her head and threatening to make her throw up. She flailed desperately, and finding she couldn't free herself, yelled, "Help! Someone get me down!"

She hung facing the wall of the courtyard, and thus couldn't see the crowd, but she could hear several of them laughing their heads off, as well as Sceptile roaring at them in confused anger. The Grass type came over to her and grabbing her arm, tugged at her trying to get the rope, or whatever it was that held her up, to snap. After a couple of tugs, it proved pointless, and Zara ordered her Pokemon to stop.

"Tile," Sceptile mumbled apologetically.

"Somebody help me!" Zara cried, panic and anxiety building within her. She tried to twist around and pull herself up to grab onto the rope, but couldn't get a hold on it. Every time she lunged up for it, she swung outward and around, putting the rope out of her grasp, and it wouldn't be back within reach untill after she couldn't hold herself up any longer. "Who did this?" she cried.

One person laughed an especially loud and frivolous laugh, and Zara knew immediately who it was. _Jacklyn. She set this up._

"I told you you'd pay for your little outburst the other day," Jacklyn said as she approached Zara. From where Zara hung, she could only see Jacklyn out of one eye, but that didn't seem to deter the black haired trainer.

Taking a deep breath, Zara said, "This was your revenge? Stringing me up like a pinata? What are you going to do now, hit me and see if a drop any candy? I guarantee you that won't happen."

Jacklyn snarled at her, then said, "Perhaps you'd like me to get a baseball bat and we can find out. Just to be sure." And Zara saw her flutter her eyelashes mockingly.

"I'm already sure. Cut me down."

"You really want to come down? I've heard standing on your head is very comfortable."

Zara snorted as best she could with all the blood in her head. "Who told you that, a Zubat? Cut me down."

"Now who's the one who said they weren't incompetent here? If your so clever, you think of a way to get down."

Zara growled frustratedly and lunged for the rope around her ankle again. Under normal circumstances she could have thought of a plan to get down fairly easily, but considering the heavy pressure on her head from all the blood in it, and her panic at being caught and ripe for the taking within Lysander's, and Alain's, view, nothing was coming to mind. And the longer she couldn't think of anything, the more panicked she became.

"Just cut me down already!" she finally shouted.

"What? Does the bright young Champion's assistant need help from the incompetent trainer? My oh my, I don't believe my ears!"

"Just. Cut. Me. Down!" Zara hissed.

"I won't unless you say, 'Jacklyn rules and Zara drools'."

"What?"

"You heard me. All you have to say is five words, and I'll get you down lickety split."

"Not a chance."

Jacklyn shrugged. "Your choice. Guess you'll go back to having your Sceptile pull you down." And she turned and began to walk away.

Zara weighed her choices. Either she could hang here untill someone took pity on her and cut her down, and who knew how long that might take, or she could give in to Jacklyn's demands and have her cut her down now. Neither choice was desirable. But the latter would get her away from Lysander sooner, so...

Fine," she mumbled, "Jacklyn rules and Zara drools."

"Hm? What was that? I couldn't hear you," Jacklyn said in her sickly sweet voice.

"I said Jacklyn rules and Zara drools, " Zara repeated only slightly louder.

"Still can't hear you. You really need to speak up, you know."

"Jacklyn rules and Zara drools," Zara said as evenly as she could through clenched teeth.

"Very well, I'll cut you down now," Jacklyn said. Sending out her Blaziken, she ordered, "Blaziken, jump up and cut that cord."

Blaziken leaped high enough to clear Zara's ankle, then sliced the cord that held her up in two with its beak. As soon as it was cut, Zara started to fall. She cried out, and just before her head would have connected with the ground, Sceptile grabbed her leg in its mouth and layed her down gently on her back.

The blood that had accumulated in her head steadily began to spread back out to where it was supposed to be, and Zara lay still on her back for a minute to let it do so. Above her, Sceptile prodded her gently in several places, trying its hardest to make sure she was alright.

"I'm okay, Sceptile," Zara said, putting a hand on its head to reassure it. Sceptile nodded, then raised its head and growled angrily at Jacklyn.

"What are you mad at me for, you overgrown Treecko?" Jacklyn said saucily. "I was the one who got her down. You should be thanking me."

As a reply, Sceptile opened its mouth and began charging a Dragon Pulse. Blaziken stepped in front of its trainer and raised its arms protectively.

"Alright, what's going on out here?" said a voice from across the courtyard. Zara didn't need to see the speaker to know it was Drake. "Why are you all standing around?"

"And why is Zara on her back with a piece of cord around her foot?" another voice asked. This speaker came up to her, and Zara found herself looking straight into Steven's face.

"Steven!" Zara said, relief flooding through her.

"What happened to you?" Steven asked her. He offered her his hand, and when she took it, pulled up to her feet.

"Jacklyn decided to see what I would look like if she strung me up like a pinata," Zara replied. Reaching down, she untied the cord from around her ankle.

"Where did she go?" Steven asked.

"What do you mean? She's right-" Zara raised her hand and pointed at empty air. Jacklyn was gone. Looking around for her, she noticed Alain and Lysander were gone as well.

"Are you alright?" Steven asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes, yes I'm alright, just a little dizzy," Zara answered distractedly, still searching for Jacklyn.

"Maybe we'd better go see Nurse Joy," Steven said warily.

"No, I'm fine, just dizzy, I can walk alright, don't worry about-" Zara took two steps and stumbled, falling to one knee and felt bile rise in her throat.

"Let's go see Nurse Joy," Steven said firmly, pulling her up and putting her arm around his shoulders.

"Fine," Zara said meekly, "but afterward, I have something I need to show you."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain growled furiously and punched the punching bag again, leaving a sizable indent in the stuffing. _How dare she! How dare she! How dare she hurt Zara like that!_

He'd been in the training room ever since he'd left the courtyard, furiously tearing up this punching bag. He gave the bag one more solid punch and plunked down on a bench, seething rage at Jacklyn.

After Zara had stepped into the noose on the ground-and yes, there was a noose on the ground he just hadn't seen the thing untill it was too late to warn her-he'd watched Jacklyn laugh at her, along with several of her girl friends. To be honest, he had expected Jacklyn to laugh at her and then cut her down immedaitely, her revenge having been extracted. When she didn't, Alain had wanted to go up to her and drive her into the dirt, and then cut Zara down himself, but with what he'd said to Lysander about staying away form her, he couldn't do so without disobeying orders. And with what Zara had said to him yesterday about calling him a liar, he wasn't sure the help would have been appreciatied.

Alain let his head fall back and hit the wall behind him, and he sighed angrily. _I will make her pay for that. No one, I repeat, no one gets to hurt Zara like that and gets away with it. I will protect her. I swear it._

He brought his head back up and added, _And I will protect Mairin too. Whatever the cost._

He didn't readily acknowledge it, but Zara had found her way into his heart, and had earned herself a place right next to Mairin. Though she had slipped a bit when she called him a liar. Alain wasn't sure what she'd meant by that, but it must have been a mistake on her part, and perhaps when his mission with the Mega Evolution energy was finished he could come back and clear it all up. But he still cared about her, even though she hated him.

He put a hand up to his cheek where Zara had slapped him the other day. It no longer hurt, but something much deeper down that he couldn't place still did. _She really hates me._

 _How do you know that Mairin doesn't hate you too?_ his mind thought ominously.

Shoving that thought away, he rose and steadied the punching bag. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pokeball, intending to train and get his mind off what had just happened. _At least Zara trying to stay away from me_ _it easier to follow orders_ , he thought. He raised his arm to throw the pokeball, when his Holocaster rang. It was a message from Lysander. _Come find me on the second floor._

 _On the second floor?_ Alain thought. _I thought that floor was off limits._ Nevertheless, he left the training room and climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Lysander stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for him. As soon as Alain reached the top, Lysander adressed him. "Alain."

"Yes, sir?"

"Walk with me."

Alain followed his boss silently as he turned and headed down the hallway.

"You are doing well in the competition."

"Yes sir."

"And you have collected a great deal of Mega Evolution energy."

"Yes sir."

Lysander didn't speak for a moment. "You will be happy to know that we have discovered a method of making Pokemon even stronger, I assume."

Alain's eyes snapped to Lysander's face. "Yes, sir, it would!"

"Then keep battling and training. When you have gathered all the Mega Evolution energy, I will-" Lysander stopped abruptly.

Alain looked away from Lysander's face and down the hallway to see Steven and Zara, along with Celosia and Bryony, standing in front of an open door and arguing.

"I assure you, we have nothing in there," Bryony said calmly.

Zara snorted. "That's not true and you know it!"

"What seems to be the problem?" Lysander asked, advancing to stand next to Steven. Zara edged away from him, Alain noticed, much to his confusion. _The longer I stay away from her, the more confusing she gets,_ he thought to himself.

"Zara, please," Steven said. "Now, I'd like to see what is in this room if all of you don't mind. Zara tells me there is something I should know about in here."

Celosia and Bryony sharred a look, then Bryony looked at Lysander and touched the rim of her goggles. "Very well," Lysander said.

Without another word, Steven pushed the door open and stepped inside. For a minute he said nothing, then he came back out, his experession stern. "Zara, are you sure your feeling alright? You don't need to go back to Nurse Joy or anything?"

 _She went to Nurse Joy?_ Alain thought worriedly, then shoved the thought away.

"What? No, of course not! Why would you ask that?" Zara asked.

"See for yourself," And Steven stepped away from the door, giving Zara a full view of the room inside. Alain circled around the group untill he could see inside himself. The room was full of broken plaster. Pieces as small a ping-pong ball, pieces as big as a man, blue pieces, yellow pieces, white pieces, all over the floor and leaning against the walls.

Zara starred at the mess for a minute, then raced inside and fell to her knees, tearing at the plaster and scattering it more. "This can't be all that's in here!" she cried.

"Zara, come on, let's go back to the Pokemon Center," Steven said.

"No!" Zara shouted, balling her hands into fists. "I am not delirious! I'm telling you, this can't be all that's in here!" Suddenly she stopped and slowly turned to face the Hoenn Champion. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"You haven't been acting yourself lately," Steven replied. "Skipping meals, training for hours on end, and now this. I'm only questioning if your alright because you act like you're not."

Zara turned away from the group, her head down. "Alright, Champion, let's go." She came out of the room and headed for the stairs, Steven right beside her. As she passed Alain, she held her head up higher and put on a fierce expression, but he still saw a tear slip down her cheek. The sight confused him even further. _What was she hoping to find in there so desperately? She helped prepare this place for the seminar. She would know better that anyone where everything is at._

When Zara and Steven were gone, Celosia said, "She's getting too nosy. Someone-" She would have gone on, but a look from Bryony cut her off.

"We need to complete our research and go back to Kalos soon, before this information falls into the wrong hands," Lysander said. "How much longer do you need?"

"We can move on to part two tomorrow," Bryony said.

"What information?" Alain asked.

"Information regarding what I was speaking to you about earlier. A method of making Pokemon even stronger."

Alain nodded at this. _What would Zara want with that? Maybe she doesn't know what they're working on, but she's just curious about why Bryony and Celosia are here, and has started poking her nose in places it doesn't belong. Like she did with me._

"That is all I wished to tell you, Alain. You may go." And with that, Lysander, Celosia, and Bryony turned as one and left him alone in the hallway.

Alain went back downstairs and trained with Charizard untill supper, ate, then went to his room and his bed. Gordon was already there, snoring up a storm, but Alain didn't care. He lay down and tried to sort out the ever growing puzzle regarding Zara. Everytime he tried to put the pieces together, however, there was always at least one piece that didn't fit in with the others. Nothing made sense with her anymore. Finally, gave up and went to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would have in store. _Jacklyn getting punished, that's one thing I know for sure._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara sat on the roof, crying as hard as she could. The tears were mostly from built-up stress, but the last straw had been Steven's doubt in her. That she hated more than anything else that had happened today. And, even worse, the proof she had been looking for wasn't there. She had nothing now to back her suspicion of Lysander or those two women other tha her background story, and she refused to tell it to Steven. _But this non-exsistent proof was supposed to get Steven to make them leave, without me having to tell him anything!_

She knew now that this Team was up to something, but what it was, and what they were after still evaded her. If she could have figured that out, it would have helped her know how to stay away from them.

Behind her, Sceptile rubbed its snout gently across her back as she sobbed. "Your the only one who understands me, aren't you Sceptile? Because you were the only one who was there through it all," she choked out.

"Sceptile scep."

"Whatever happens, Sceptile, you'll always be there for me, right?"

"Scep!"

"And I'll always be there for you too. I promise." This thought helped her to calm down, and when she wasn't sobbing anymore, she said, "Sceptile, what are we going to do? There are still four whole days of the seminar, and I nearly lost it after one day."

Sceptile put its head down on hers and pretended to snore.

"I'm not sure I can sleep. I'd be too afraid someone would nab me while I was out."

Sceptile growled and took a defensive pose.

After a moment of thinking, Zara guessed, "You'll stand guard while I sleep?"

"Scep!" Sceptile confirmed.

"Okay, if your sure." And Zara returned Sceptile to its pokeball, climbed down through her window, then released it next to her bed. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Sceptile nodded and pushed her gently backward onto her bed.

Zara chuckled slightly and said, "Okay, okay, I'm going to bed. Goodnight." And she kissed Sceptile on the nose and pulled her blanket over her shoulders. She was out almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Please review!**


	14. Taken By Surprise

Day11: Taken By Surprise.

Zara awoke the next day, a sense of determination emplanted in her. Jacklyn's trap yesterday had done some good; it made her realize how much she wasn't seeing that went on around her. The next time she slipped up and got caught in a trap, it probably wouldn't be a trap that she could get out of just by saying five words.

"Thus, from now on, as long as I and this Team are both at this seminar, I'll have a Pokemon next to me, standing guard, at all times," she said firmly, finishing her plan explination.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile growled approvingly. The Grass type had been up all night, but looked as wide awake as ever.

"Maybe that will keep me safe from those maniacs," Zara whispered to herself, then got off her bed and changed out of her pajamas.

After returning Sceptile to its pokeball and sending out her Lairon, she walked downstairs to the cafeteria. The going was slow due to Lairon being a slow Pokemon, but Zara didn't care. The more time she spent walking to the cafeteria, the less time she would have to spend in it. When she did arrive, the place was busy enough that she could slip in without attracting any unwanted attention.

She was scrapping her plate clean when Sidney came in the double doors. "Attention, students who are still in the competition! Please come with me to the courtyard!" He paused, then added, "And any of you who lost but still want to tag along are welcome to come too."

Zara couldn't help but smile a little bit at Sidney's announcement. _He's an Elite Four member, yet he seems so unprofessional at times. Oh well, better than having him like Glacia, whose all manners and properness all the time._

She dumped her dishes in the dish return and strode out to the courtyard, Lairon in tow. Outside in the courtyard, Carl, Gordon, Astrid, and the worst-snob-ever-to-own-a-keystone Jacklyn were already assembled. That only left...

Zara heard footsteps approaching from behind as the last name ran through her head. _Alain_. Suddenly all the fear and anxiety she'd felt yesterday came flooding back. He stepped up to the group, and Lairon growled at him. He looked at the Steel and Rock type oddly, as Zara sidled away from him as inconspicuously as she could.

"Well trainers, congratulations on making it this far!" Sidney said as soon as Alain had joined the group. "Today is going to work a little differently than the last couple of days, so listen up. We have six trainers left, as you can see, but we don't have enough time left in the seminar to have a typical single-elimination tournament. So instead, were going to divide you up into groups of three and have you each battle it out to see who will move on."

Gordon raised a hand. "You mean were going to have a battle with three people in it, and the last one standing moves on?"

"No, that's not what I mean," Sidney said, shaking his head, "I mean each of you will fight a battle with each of the other people in your group, and the two that end up with the most victories will move on."

"So we each fight two battles, and the top two will move one to tomorrow's competition?" Carl asked.

"What happens if all three trainers win one battle and lose one battle?" Astrid asked at the same time. She and Carl exchanged glances, and then looked away from each other quickly. If Zara hadn't been so preoccupied by her Team situation, she would have noticed the blush that crept onto Astrid's face.

"Only one group of trainers will fight today. The other group will fight their battles tomorrow," Sidney clarrified. "And the Elite Four will be watching your battles to see how you do, so if you all win one and lose one they can judge who did the best and decide who will move on."

"Who's in what group?" Zara asked.

"You, Carl, and Jacklyn are in today's group, and the rest of you are in tomorrow's."

"So, who's going first?" Jackly asked.

"Well, since you spoke up first, you and...who else wants to go?"

Zara didn't hesitate. "I do."

"Then you and Zara will go first," Sidney affirmed. Stepping to the side of the field, he gestured to the trainer's boxes. Jacklyn marched into the closer one, and Zara walked to the far one. Across the field, Glacia and Phoebe sat in folding chairs, facing the battle field.

"Did you both understand the rules of these battles, and are you both ready?" Sidney asked.

"Yes, and ready," both trainers answered stimulously. Zara gritted her teeth after the words came out in perfect sinc with Jacklyn's.

"Then battle begin!" Sidney shouted, dropping his arm to start the battle.

"Go Blaziken!" Jacklyn cried.

"Sceptile, at the ready!" Zara shouted.

Both Pokemon landed on the field with a roar. As soon as they got a good look at each other, Sceptile snarrled and Blaziken growled at its opponent.

Jacklyn was the first to move. "Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!"

"Dodge it!" Zara ordered.

Blaziken rushed forward, its legs growing flaming coverings. It leaped into the air and aimed to come down on Sceptile's head, but just as it started to come down, Sceptile dashed away, letting the Fire and Fighting type crash against the ground.

"Use Sky Uppercut!" Jacklyn shouted.

"Dodge it!" Zara commanded.

Blaziken hauled itself off the ground where it had crashed and again charged Sceptile. But Sceptile was ready, and dashed to the side, letting Blaziken's punch connect with empty air.

"Blaz?!" Blaziken roared angrily.

"Scep," Sceptile taunted, gesturing with a claw for Blaziken to bring it on.

"Blaziken, Mega Evolve!" Jacklyn shouted, touching the keystone in her choker. It reacted with Blaziken's Mega Stone, and Blaziken Mega Evolved.

Zara raised her arm to touch her own keystone, but before she could do anything Jackly ordered, "Use Blaze Kick!"

Faster than the human eye could follow, Blaziken became a blur of red and yellow, and zipped across the battle field. It dashed around Sceptile and struck the Forest Pokemon in the back with its blazing foot.

 _Ugh, I keep forgetting that thing has Speed Boost,_ Zara thought. Touching her own keystone, she shouted, " Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Sceptile roared as its Mega Stone reacted. In a flash, it Mega Evolved and turned to face Blaziken.

Jacklyn's eyes narrowed. "Use Overheat!"

Zara didn't say any commands as Blaziken launched its stream of molten lava her Pokemon. What she did do was whistle.

At her whistle, Sceptile looked straight at her. Zara made both her hands into fists and punched them together, then covered her mouth with one hand and then threw it out in front of herself. Sceptile turned back to Blaziken and released a Dragon Pulse attack, which intercepted its Overheat. Both Pokemon struggled, but neither could outmatch the other, and the attacks exploded.

"Blaze Kick!" Jacklyn ordered, "Hit them hard!"

"Detect!" Zara ordered. When Jacklyn's face showed surprise, she smiled to herself. _If I keep changing up my tactics like this, Jacklyn will never know what's coming next, and won't be prepared to defend against it. Plus, it gives her less opportunities to figure out what my non-verbal commands mean. Tricks are everything in a battle, and the element of surprise is essential._

"Use Sky Uppercut!" Jacklyn ordered.

"Leaf Blade, intercept it!" Zara countered.

Again both Sceptile and Blaziken attacked each other. Blaziken flew forward, aided by Speed Boost, but Sceptile kept pace with it, its speed having risen after it Mega Evolved. Blaziken punched furiously at its opponent, but Sceptile countered every attack. Eventually, Blazekin gave up and jumped back.

"Don't let up! Use Blaze Kick!"

Zara whistled and held her hands up next to her eyes.

Blaziken rushed forward again, but Sceptile used Detect and dodged all of Blaziken's flaming kicks. When the Fire and Fighting type saw that there was no way it could get in a hit, it jumped back to its trainer, breathing heavily. Jacklyn was breathing heavily too, but out of anger, not tiredness.

Sceptile turned to face its trainer, pointing its tail at Blaziken. It tilted its head at Zara, as if to ask, _What now?_

Zara shifted her feet, but said nothing. _Hold on, Sceptile, wait till they move._

"Use Sky Uppercut!" Jacklyn cried angrily. Blaziken rushed at Sceptile once again.

"Drag your tail along the ground and stir up some dust!" Zara commanded. Sceptile slammed its tail against the ground and dragged it in a circle twice before it became surrounded in a cloud of dust.

"Wait, Blaziken, use Overheat instead," Jacklyn amended her prior command.

Blaziken skidded to a stop just before it reached the dust cloud. It charged the Fire type attack, then launched it into the dust. Nothing happened.

"What did she-?" Jacklyn began.

Suddenly Sceptile burst out of the dust, charging Blaziken. It was bent over, running with its body parallel to the ground. Blaziken had fired its attack at its own eye level, thus its Overheat had gone over the Grass type's head, not even skimming it.

"Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered.

"Jump!" Jacklyn shouted. Blaziken leaped into the air, narrowly missing the Leaf Blade. "Now come down on it with Blaze Kick!" The Blaze Pokemon shouted vigorously and drove downward

"Grab Blaziken from behind, Sceptile!" Zara yelled.

As Blaziken began to approach Sceptile, the Forest Pokemon stepped forward to where it was behind Blaziken, then jumped and grabbed the Blaze Pokemon's arms, forcing it to face away from the Grass type.

"Now throw it!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile's claws hit the ground for perhaps a second before it jumped again, and with a mightly heave, flung Blaziken at the back wall of the courtyard. The Fire and Fighting type hurtled away from it, falling end over end as it went.

"Now Dragon Pulse! Drive them into the wall!" Zara shouted.

"Intercept it with Overheat!" Jacklyn ordered.

Blaziken released the Overheat, but since it was still spinning head over heels, the Fire type attack didn't have any real target. Instead, the molten lava sprayed out around Blaziken, creating a flaming wheel all around it, so when Sceptile's Dragon Pulse connected with the wheel, it was blocked and didn't touch Blaziken. The lava didn't stop it from crashing, however, and Blaziken still took damage when it struck the wall of the school.

The Fire and Fighting type hauled itself back up and glared at Sceptile. Sceptile only retuned the glare.

"Use Overheat!" Jacklyn ordered.

Zara whistled again, covered her mouth with a hand before throwing it out in front of herself.

Sceptile and Blaziken intercepted one another's attacks, and they exploded, neither Pokemon taking a hit.

"Move in closer, Blaziken," Jacklyn commanded after the smoke cleared.

Blaziken leaped closer to Sceptile and growled at it, but didn't attack. The two Pokemon slowly began to circle one another, neither getting any closer or further away, neither moving to attack. They continued to circle untill Sceptile stood in front of Jacklyn, and Blaziken stood in front of Zara.

"Now, Sky Uppercut!"

Zara whistled and ran two fingers down the outside of her forearm.

Blaziken punched and punched at Sceptile, but once again, Sceptile countered every swipe with its Leaf Blades. But this time, Blaziken didn't stop after a couple of minutes. Instead it kept punching.

"Dodge it, and strike them in the back!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile dodged to the left, and Blaziken's punch sailed past it. The Grass and Dragon type twisted to slice it leaves across Blaziken's back, but as it turned, Blaziken slid its leg in front of Sceptile's, causing Sceptile to trip. Before Zara had a chance to give any orders, Blaziken slammed its fist into Sceptile's chest, sending the Forest Pokemon flying. It roared and scewed its eyes shut at the impact.

"Sceptile!" Zara shouted anxiously. Beside her, Lairon growled at Blaziken.

"Now hit it with Blaze Kick!" Jacklyn commanded.

Blaziken leaped after Sceptile, charging a Blaze Kick as soon as it left the ground. It closed in on the Forest Pokemon, and prepared to send Sceptile crashing to the ground with its attack, when Zara shouted at the top of her lungs, "Don't let them hit you, Sceptile! Use Detect!"

Sceptile's eyes opened suddenly, and began to glow blue. As Blaziken's foot came toward it, it grabbed onto it and swung itself out of the way. Blaziken lashed out with its other foot, but Sceptile avoided it, climbing its way up Blazkien's body.

"Sky Uppercut! Get them off of you!" Jacklyn yelled.

Now Blaziken began to lash out with its arms, but still, Sceptile avoided every move. It kept climbing untill it had its foot on Blaziken's head, then jumped off the Fire and Fighting type.

"Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

With a roar, Sceptile fired a huge Dragon Pulse straight down at Blaziken. There was no time to move, and the Dragon type attack drove Baziken into the ground face first, generating an explosion to match the size of the move.

Sceptile landed smoothly in front of its trainer, watching the smoke closely for any signs of movement. When it cleared, Blaziken was on its knees, trying as hard as it could to rise.

"Now's our chance! Frenzy Plant!" Zara ordered.

"Blaziken, get up and intercept them with Blaze Kick!" Jacklyn shouted, none too kindly, at her Pokemon.

Sceptile slammed its tail into the ground, and large roots began to grow out from it. Blaziken struggled to its feet and jumped to meet them. One by one, it burned up every last one of the roots, taking no damage in the process. When all the roots were burned and lay in a charred mess on the battle field, Blaziken hung in the air above Sceptile, its legs still flaming.

"Hit it with Blaze Kick! Take them down!" Jacklyn commanded.

Blaziken rushed down at Sceptile, gaining speed every second. Sceptile, unable to attack after using Frenzy Plant, couldn't send a Dragon Pulse up at it to knock it off course. It was almost over. Jacklyn smiled.

Then Zara said, "Dodge it."

At the last possible second, Sceptile stepped out of Blaziken's way. The Blaze Pokemon cried out in alarm as it fell past Sceptile and crashed on the field, stirring up a cloud of dust and smoke.

Jacklyn wasn't smiling now. Now, she was holding her breath.

The dust settled to reveal Blaziken had been knocked out. In a flash, it reverted to its normal form.

"Blaziken is unable to battle, so Sceptile is the winner. Therefore, the victory goes to Zara!" Sidney announced.

"No!" Jacklyn screamed. "You weren't supposed to win that battle! Blaziken, this is all your fault! Why couldn't you get that Blaze Kick to connect!"

Blaziken lifted it's head slowly and mumbled it's apologies. Jacklyn gave a disgusted _humph,_ and Blaziken lowered it's head. Zara suddenly realized it was cowering.

"No, I don't want to hear you apologize! You messed this up, now what are going to do?!" And with that, she recalled Blaziken and stormed off the field.

Sceptile walked up to her as Jacklyn left. "Scep?" it asked.

Zara threw her arms around her Pokemon's neck. She didn't smile, neither did she cry, only hugged the Grass type as hard as she could to thank it. Then she brought out Sceptile's pokeball and returned Sceptile to it. Larion growled happily at Sceptile as it disappeared.

"So Zara, who do you want to face Carl first? You or Jacklyn?" Sidney asked.

What he said didn't register untill Lairon bumped her leg with its head. "Huh? Oh, I don't care. Whatever Jacklyn wants to do."

"Nope, I said eariler it was winner's choice. You won, so you get to pick."

"You said that?" Zara asked, confused.

"While you were battling."

"Oh. Jacklyn, then."

"Very well. Jacklyn, go give your Pokemon to Nurse Joy, and tell her you need it healed ASAP."

Jacklyn huffed tersly, but did as she was told.

Now that her first battle was over, Zara turned back to the group of students. Carl and Astrid were talking, and it seemed all the others who didn't have to fight anymore battles were outside milling around. But Alain and Gordon were no where to be seen. Gordon being gone didn't make any difference to Zara; Alain did. "Come on, Lairon," she whispered, "let's go see what he's up to." _Hopefully nothing destructive..._

She and Lairon walked up and down the halls for about an hour. They saw neither hide nor hair of the dark haired trainer, which both relieved and worried Zara. Finally, she gave up her search, and headed for one of the training rooms. _At least do something while your waiting for your next battle. If you don't, you'll probably go crazy,_ her mind told her.

"I think I'm going to train with you today, Lairon," she said as they went. "What do you want to do first? Treadmill?"

Lairon growled disapprovingly.

"Hey, I'm kiding, I'm kiding! I know how much you don't like the treadmills." She held the training room door open for Lairon as the Steel and Rock type lumbered slowly inside. "How about the punching bags instead?" she asked as Lairon passed the end of the door.

Lairon didn't answer, but instead lowered its head and began to growl viciously. Zara leaned around the door, trying to see what had angered her Pokemon. As her head passed the end of the door, her eyes met sharp blue ones, and she jumped involuntarily.

Alain stood next to the left wall of the training room, a Bisharp in front of him. Clearly they were here training, because the blades on Bisharp's arms were beginning to fade from an attack, and the makiwara in front of it was sliced in three places.

Zara knew she should have run as soon as she saw who it was, but years of practice with controling her emotions kept her rooted to the spot. She returned Alain's gaze, putting as much authority into her look as possible, then holding her head up to appear confident, strode into the room, Larion growling as it followed her.

Alain's piercing gaze followed her as she crossed the room to where the punching bags stood, but he didn't say a word. Zara kept her back to him as much as she could, but even that didn't seem to deaden the feeling of hs gaze on her. Her hands shook ever so slightly as she pushed one of the bags in front of Lairon. "Okay, Lairon, hit this as hard as you can."

"Ron," Lairon said, giving her a significant look.

"What?" she asked.

Larion lumbered up to her and knocked the pocket where she kept all her pokeballs, then turned to face Bisharp, who'd gone back to cutting up its makiwara.

"Fight Bisharp?" she guessed. Then the answer came to her, and she brought out a pokeball and threw it with a cry of, "Medicham, at the ready."

Her Medicham materialized next to her and spun around on one foot. "Cham, cham, medi!"

Zara couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Nice to see you too, Medicham."

Lairon moved forward and began to talk with Medicham, the Fighting and Psychic type constantly jumping from foot to foot. Lairon eventually growled at it, which Zara took to mean "Stand still and listen to me!" and she chuckled again. Movment across the room caught her attention as she chuckled, and she looked up to see Alain starring at her with...some emotion she couldn't explain in his eyes. She quickly looked away, turning back to her Pokemon. "Okay Lairon, you ready?"

"Lair!"

"Good. Use Iron Head!"

Thus she and Lairon trained for about two hours. Alain and Bisharp stayed in the room, training, for almost the full two hours, and Medicham stood at Zara's back the whole time they were there. Every now and then she would hear the Fighting and Psychic type shouting something at Alain's Pokemon, and whenever that happened she would, gently, kick her Pokemon as a reminder to stay quiet. Once Bisharp had shouted something back at Medicham, and Zara had kicked Medicham more urgently, fearing a fight would break out, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. But Bisharp stayed with its trainer. Alain, unlike his Pokemon, stayed silent the whole time he was there, only glancing over at Zara a few times. Zara wasn't sure what to make of his behavior, only kept her guard up and her mouth shut.

When Alain had been gone for about twenty minutes, Zara decided she had done enough training and would head back out to the courtyard to see if they were ready for her to face Carl. She recalled Lairon, who was exhausted by now, and turned to leave with Medicham following on her heels.

She heard it before she saw it. A light scraping sound coming from the back of the room, like metal on stone. Whirling at the noise, she sceamed as a Bisharp began to charge her. "Medicham!" was all she could get out before the Dark and Steel type lunged at her and grabbed her neck and arms. The Blade Pokemon had its cold arms wrapped around her torso before she could stop it, and it squeezed her so tightly she could barely breath. "Help," she croaked.

Then Medicham fell on Bisharp, and began to pummel it with Force Palms. The super-effective moves clearly caused the Dark and Steel type a lot of pain, because it roared loudly and released its hold on Zara so it could strike back at its attacker. Medicham jumped and came down on Bisharp with a High Jump Kick. Bisharp retaliated and struck Medicham with a Shadow Claw. Medicham cried out and lashed back with another Force Palm.

The whole fight was little more than a blur to Zara. As soon as Bisharp released her, she collapsed on the floor, trying to catch her breath. When she could breath, she tried to crawl aroung Bisharp, but the Blade Pokemon kept repositioning itself so she couldn't get around it. She didn't dare rise for fear of getting hit in the head of back by one of the attacks. Thus she stayed where she was, and just kicked and Bisharp's feet to try and throw it off balance.

Medicham landed another High Jump Kick on Bisharp, and it fell to its knees from the blow. Medicham landed and raised its hand to land a Force Palm, but Bisharp dodged its attack and ran away, going straight for the window. It leaped the window sill and vanished.

Medicham started after it, charging a Force Palm as it ran across the tile floor, then skidded to a halt and returned to its trainer. Zara clutched the wall as she struggled to rise. "Where did it go, Medicham?"

"Cham!" And Medicham pointed at the open window.

"Good, it's gone. Let's get out of here and back outside." She tried to take a step and stumbled, Medicham reaching out to catch her. "No, I'm alright, just give me a minute."

Zara rose slowly, forcing air into her lungs. Bisharp's grip had hurt more than she'd expected. After she stood, she turned and left the training room, walking as quickly as she could back to the courtyard. Medicham followed closely, watching Zara for any signs of injury.

Zara entered the courtyard just in time to see Carl's Lucario strike Blaziken over the head with a Bone Rush. The Blaze Pokemon screamed it name and colapsed, flashing and reverting to its normal form.

"Blaziken is unable to battle, so Lucario wins! Therefore the victory goes to Carl!" Sidney announced.

Carl rushed onto the field and clapped his Lucario on the back, but Jacklyn only stood in her trainer's box, staring dumbly at the field. Zara wasn't sure if she was angry or dissapointed, but she figured as soon as the shock of her loss wore off, everone would know how Jacklyn felt. But that didn't matter right now. Right now, she needed to tell someone what had just happened.

Drake stood off to the side of the crowd, watching Carl with his usual impassible face. He was the closest, and Zara hurried over to him.

"Drake! Drake!" she shouted.

"Hm? What do you need?" the Dragon type Master asked irritably.

"Drake, you have to come quickly! I've just been attacked by somebody's Bisharp!"

"What? Attacked by a Bisharp? Where? When?"

"Just a few minutes ago, in the second training room."

"The one that's on the other side of this wall that I'm leaning on?"

"Across the hall from that one." Zara paused, then added, "Didn't you hear me scream?"

Drake gave her a strange look, then said, "Maybe I shoud go get Steven." His tone was so quizzical, Zara couldn't help but know he didn't believe her. _How could they not have heard all that? My scream, Bisharp and Medcham's fight..._

"No, don't get Steven, just come with me and I'll show you where it happened."

"What seems to be the matter?" It was Phoebe. She strode over to Drake and faced Zara.

"I was just attacked by a Bisharp! Come on, we have to try and find it!" Zara said more forcefully.

Drake gave Phoebe a look, which she returned with a more concerned one. "Zara, don't take this the wrong way," Phoebe began gently, "but Steven told us about what you said yesterday with the plaster, and he's afraid that you may be trying to get someone in trouble by making up a bunch of stories. Now I'm not saying you are, but this does sound a bit sceptical."

Zara felt a lump the size of a softball forming in her throat at Phoebe's words. "But didn't you hear me screaming?" she asked desperately.

Phoebe hesitated before saying, "No, I'm sorry, I didn't."

"How could you not have?" Zara exclaimed. "Why don't you believe me? What reason would I have for making this up?"

"To get someone you don't like in trouble," Drake said bluntly, glancing at Jacklyn as he said it.

"That's not why! I was attacked by someone's Bisharp, and its getting away, and the longer we stand here and talk about it, the further away it gets, so will someone please listen to me-"

"I think I should take you to see Nurse Joy," Drake said, cutting her off.

"What? No! For the last time, I am not sick in any way, shape, or form!"

"But Zara," Phoebe began, "she might be able to help you with-"

"Just be quiet, Phoebe, just be quiet, both of you!" Zara shouted. Suddenly, the whole courtyard became dead silent. In the silence, Zara realised what she had just said and clapped and hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.

"Zara, what's wrong with you?" Phoebe asked.

Zara didn't answer, only turned and fled. She kept running, out of the courtyard, through the hall, up the stairs, and into her room. There she colapsed on her bed and cried untill she had no tears left to shed.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain walked into the courtyard just in time to see Zara dashing out the side door as fast as she could run. _What got into her?_ he thought. _Did Jacklyn try another one of her tricks?_

The whole courtyard was quiet. Far too quiet. Something was up.

Sidney left the judge's place beside the field, and Glacia left her folding chair, both of them walking over to where Drake and Phoebe stood. "What was that all about?" Sidney asked.

"The runt is making up stories again," Drake stated.

"I'm not so sure that she is," Phoebe added. "And don't call her a runt, she's can't help it if she's shorter than you."

"What did she say this time?" Glacia asked.

"That she was attacked by some Pokemon in one of the training rooms," Drake answered.

Alain's attention spiked at that. _She was attacked? By who?_

"That sounds like she's making it up to me," Glacia said flatly. "How could anyone break into this place without one of us knowing?"

 _You have no idea what you're talking about,_ Alain thought, thinking of Courtney.

"But she clearly was upset about something," Phoebe said.

"But Steven said she acted the same way yesterday, and there was nothing there," Drake countered.

"Well, regardless of whether she's telling the truth or not, she gone, and we still have another battle to fight," Sidney said, agrivation in his voice.

"Hey," Carl interrupted, "if you guys need to go help her, we already know who's going on. I don't have to fight another battle or anything."

"Thank you, Carl, that is very much appreciated," Glacia said. "We should go find her."

"We will," Sidney said, and with that, the Elite Four split up, each going a different direction.

Alain watched them go. Zara attacked by a Pokemon? _If Jacklyn did this, I swear I'll-wait, did Drake say she was attacked in one of the training rooms? The one that I was in just a few minutes ago?_

He immediately turned and went back to the training room he'd been in earlier that morning. _Drake said Zara was attacked by a Pokemon, so there should be some sign of a fight in here,_ he thought. He combed the whole room from front to back, but found nothing to indicate there had been any kind of conflict. Everything was in position and nothing has any marks on it, save the makiwara he'd been using and the punching bag she'd been training with.

 _Maybe she was making up stories...Maybe she's hiding more than I realize_

 _Maybe Lysander was right about her being a threat._

 _No that's ridiculous. That's not the Zara I met at the start of this seminar!_

 _...Something isn't right._

Then he mentally slapped himself

 _What difference does it make to you if she's lying or not! Stay focused on your goals! Stay focused on Mairin._

 _Besides, she said she never wanted to see you again._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara stayed in her room for the rest of the afternoon. She was too ashamed of what she had said to Drake and especially to Phoebe to go back dowstairs, and to scared of being attacked again to climb up to the roof, too mixed up to think of any other options. Thus, when she had stopped crying, she started to pace her room.

Medicham stayed out of its pokeball during this time, as did Sceptile. The two Pokemon watched their trainer anxiously as she paced.

"I've been attacked by Alain," Zara said to herself for the tenth time.

"Medicham," Medicham corrected.

"Okay, fine, not him, but it was definitely his Pokemon!" Zara shouted. When Medicham flinched, she apologized, "I'm sorry Medicham, I shouldn't be shouting at you. You're not the problem here."

"Scep," Sceptile said gently, and Zara drew both her Pokemon into a hug.

When the sun was sinking over the horizon, and Medicham was starting to yawn, Zara heard a knock at her door. "Zara, its Steven. Are you in there?"

Zara walked slowly over to the door and opened it. Steven was outside, but he wasn't alone. Behind him stood all four of the Elite Four. "Hi, Steven," Zara whispered, avoiding looking at the rest of her visitors

Steven's face was stern as he studied her. "Phoebe told me about what happened earlier. Care to tell me your side of the story?"

Zara took a deep breath, then said with as much patience as she could muster, "I was attacked by a Bisharp downstairs in the training room this morning while Jacklyn and Carl were battling." Her hand slid unconsciously across the place on her chest where Bisharp had grabbed her. It still hurt, though her breathing had gone back to normal.

"Which training room?" Steven asked.

"I already told you, the one across the hall from where Drake was standing."

"Are you sure, Zara?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes, absolutely sure!"

"Don't get wound up, Zara, she's just asking," Sidney cautioned.

Zara pulled herself up to her full height and took a deep breath. "Sorry, now why were you asking?"

"Because we searched the whole room and found no signs of a fight," Steven answered.

Zara starred at him dumbly for a moment, before bursting out, "You what?"

"I said, we searched the whole room and found no signs of a fight to back up your story. Nothing was out of place, there were no scratches on the floor, all the windows were closed and locked, so none of them were forced. There is nothing to indicate that someone attacked you or anyone else Zara."

"But- but-" Zara stammered.

"No 'but's' Zara, tell us the truth. What happened to you this morning in the training room?" Steven demanded.

"But, I did tell you the truth," Zara said feebly, knowing her argument wouldn't satisfy them. "Didn't you hear me screaming?"

"No," Drake said firmly.

Phoebe shook her head reluctantly.

"Zara, I don't want to believe that you're lying to us," Steven said, "but everthing around us keeps pointing us back to that conclusion. If you could explain why it looks like this, then maybe we could clear up this problem."

Zara suddenly wanted to tell Steven everything. The truth about the Team, about her past, and Alain, and a million other things. _But you can't,_ she thought, _because once you do, you will never be able to take it back. And you left that behind you. None of it exsists, or at least none of it does to you. It's dead to you Zara. Forget about it._

Lowering her head, she mumbled, "No, I can't Steven."

"Then I'm sorry Zara, but I have no choice but to believe you're making it up. You know if you do it again I will be forced to punish you."

Zara nodded miserably.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Zara," Steven apologized. "Make sure you get some supper tonight," he added, the turned away and walked down the hall. Drake, Glacia, and Sidney followed him.

"I'm sorry too," Phoebe whispered when they were out of earshot, then followed them.

When they all had gone down the stairs, Zara whispered to herself, "Yeah, me too." She wasn't even sure what she was sorry about. Nothing and everything all at the same time, but that made about as much sense as rain falling up. Every part of her body ached from strain on her nerves and lack of nutrition. And now her heart ached too, knowing that the place she'd worked so hard to turn into her home for two years was being pulled out from under her by this Team in a matter of two days. She was losing her reputation and her status, but worse, she was losing Steven's trust and respect, two things she valued very highly.

 _When this Team is done with whatever it is their doing and decide to come after me, there may not be any of me left. Just a girl that's lost her mind and couldn't tell you her own name she so crazy._

Zara trudged down the stairs, Medicham in tow, to the cafeteria. She ate as much as she could stomach before going straight back to her room. She didn't see Alain or any of the other Team members while she was downstairs, but that didn't comfort her.

When she got back to her room, Britney was there tossing things out of her suitcase. "Where did my pajamas go?" she asked herself as Zara walked in the door, her head half buried in her suitcase.

Zara swept a couple of Britney's shirts off her bed, grabbed her own pajamas, and headed to the bathroom without a word to her roommate. Brittney didn't seem to even notice her as she walked past her and shut the bathroom door.

Once the door was shut, Zara pulled off her green shirt and tossed it on the counter, then undid the top two buttons on her red-pink button up. She turned on the hot water in the shower, hoping the heat from the water would help her relax. Nothing would calm her completely, but any sort of relief would be better than nothing.

She began to pull the Ponyta tail holders out of her hair, when the bathroom door swung open and Britney walked in. Zara jumped, and Brittney yelped. The black haired trainer clutched at her chest and said, "Sorry, I didn't see you come in here. Do you see my hair brush? I thought I left it in-" Britney stopped looking around the room and starred at Zara's chest. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" Zara managed, still trying to figure out how Brittney hadn't seen her go in the bathroom.

"That bruise there, under you collarbone. How did you get it?"

Zara turned swiftly to the mirror and undid a coule more buttons on her shirt. Sure enough, there was a long bruise, about as thick as a a grown man's arm, slanted across her chest. The skin was turning an ugly greenish blue, and single thin scab ran down the length of it, along the bottom. _No wonder the place where Bisharp hit me still hurts,_ she thought.

"Well, how did you get it?"

Zara didn't answer. _I could have died from that attack. If Medicham hadn't been there, I probably would have._

"Hello, earth to Zara!"

Zara still didn't answer. _I can't just sit around and wait for the next attack anymore._

"Hello?"

 _I'm not safe here anymore._

 _I know what I have to do._

 _I have to leave while I still can._

"Hello!"

Zara jumped when Brittney shouted. "Wow, and I thought I had problems with spacing out," Brittney said. "Now are you going to tell me how you got that bruise?"

"No, I'm not, and please don't ask me about it," Zara said curtly. She grabbed her shirt and tugged it back over her head, then pushed past Britney.

"Hey, where are you going?" Britney asked.

Zara ignored her. She grabbed her backpack off the floor and started shoving everything of hers into it as quickly as she could.

"Well, if your not going to take a shower right now, I am," Britney said, then went in the bathroom and shut the door firmly.

Zara packed her backpack as full as she could putting in every belonging she had with her in her room. When her bag was full, she reached into her pocket. Felling around, she came across her father's pitch-pipe and her mother's ring. _Thankfully they didn't fall out during the attack today,_ she though.

Grabbing a pad of sticky notes off the desk, she scribbled a note to Steven. She knew just a note would not satisfy him, but she couldn't stay and explain it all to him. Nor did she want to.

Her preparations complete, Zara lay down in her bed and pulled the sheets up to cover her clothes. There was no point in trying to leave now. Her best course of action was to wait untill everyone had gone to bed and it was dark outside. Then she could climb out a window, down to the ground and be miles away before anyone noticed she was missing.

Britney came out of the bathroom about a half hour later. Zara did her best to pretend she was asleep. It must have worked, because Britney seemed to be trying to be quieter than usual. A few minutes later, Zara heard her lie down and pull up her cover. A while after that, her breathing evened out, and Zara knew she was asleep. The digital clock read 11:49.

Quiet as a Noctowl, she slipped off her bed and scooped up her backpack and tore her note off the pad of sticky notes. She tiptoed to the door and eased it open slowly and steadily. Britney rolled over in her sleep and Zara froze for a solid mintue before she felt safe enough to keep going. Getting caught wasn't an option now. This had to work. She eased the door open the rest of the way and slipped out, then eased it shut.

Zara padded down the deserted hallway untill she reached the Hoenn Champion's room at the front of the building. The note she had written for him was still clutched in her left hand. She raised her hand and held it against the door, but hesitated to stick it on.

 _You realize,_ her mind told her, _that once you do this, you can never come back. As soon as you leave that note and leave this place, you can't return without having to tell them why you left. And you can't do that. If you leave tonight, you will never become Hoenn Champion, Steven will never be your friend again, and you can never call ask the Elite Four for help ever again. Is that really what you want?_

 _No,_ she thought slowly. Then she bowed her head. _But do I have a choice?_ Staring back up at the note through tears, she slid her index finger across the top, securing the sticky note to the door. She took a step back, then another. _Goodbye Steven. Goodbye Wally. May luck_ _be with you always. I'll miss you._ She took another step backward, and heaved a big sigh. _Goodbye._

Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and shoved a cloth over her mouth. Zara tried to scream, but the sound that came out was so muffled no one could have heard it. She tried to kick her attacker butcouldn't seem to connect her feet with their legs. The smell of chloroform filled her nose and mouth, and she started to panic lashing out with her arms and legs frantically. Slowly, her attacks started getting weaker. _No, no, let me go!_ her mind screamed. _Let me go! Help someone, please!_

Then everything went black.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

That was easier than I though it would be," Celosia whispered as she took the cloth away from Zara's mouth. "So easy even your Bisharp should have been able to do it, Bryony."

Bryony scowled down at her. "I'll tie her up, now that you've finished with that. Why don't you go and see what that paper she put on the Champion's door says," she whispered back.

Celosia nodded and layed Zara's limp form on the floor, then walked over Steven's door. Bryony knelt beside the girl and began to tie her arms and legs together, then released her Bisharp. "Carry her back to the room," she whispered to it. Bisharp wordlessly picked up Zara and walked steadily toward the stairs.

Celosia walked back over to her. "Well, what did it say?" Bryony asked.

"It seems that the girl knew we were after her. She just did our work for us."

"What do you mean?"

"She was telling the Champion that she's running away, and won't be coming back anytime soon. Doesn't tell him why she's leaving, just that she's going."

Bryony smiled. "You're right, She did do our work for us. We must inform Lysander."

"I'll go right now. You can finish up here?"

"Yes. I'll be there in five minutes at the most."

"Good." Celosia turned and followed Bisharp downstairs.

Bryony watched her go, then began to scan the floor for any signs of what she and Celosia had done. She picked up some of Zara's hair off the floor, as well as some fibers from the cloth Celosia had been using. She found some scratch marks on the floor where her Bishap had walked. _That won't do,_ she thought, and pulled a can of Flare-created scratch-filler fluid out of her pocket. _Very useful invention Xerosic. Thank you for sending it with us._

She leaned over and began to spray the scratches.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain woke up with a start. He'd been dreaming, he knew he had, but it had felt so real. Mairin and the Professor and Zara, all three of them, had been so close to falling into that pit, and he couldn't do anything to stop them. Alain shuddered and shook his head vigorously. He glanced at his clock. It read 11:55.

Getting up, he went to the sink and splashed cold water on his face. That woke him up, but the image of the three people he cared about falling to who knew where still lingered in his mind. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep anytime soon.

 _So get up and go do something to get your mind off of this. Go and train._

Alain dressed and grabbed his pokeballs off the desk. Taking care not to wake Gordon, though Alain wasn't sure if a hurricane would have woken him up, he slipped out into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

He turned and walked toward the nearest staircase, when out of the counter of his eye he spotted movement. Looking up, Bryony came into his field of vision. _What is she doing up at this hour?_

"Hey!" he called out, loud enough for her to hear him, but not loud enough to disturb anyone who was sleeping.

Bryony's head jerked up, and she looked around swiftly. When she spotted Alain, she straightened to her full height, and slid her left hand behind her back.

Alain walked over to her. "What are you doing?"

"I could be asking you the same question, but if you must know, I'm looking for something."

"At midnight?"

Well, what are you doing up at midnight?" Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I should go back to bed. You should too." She started down the hall at a brisk pace.

Alain was about to let her odd behavior go, when something occurred to him. "Isn't your room the other way?" he asked, pointing back down the hall the way he'd come.

Bryony froze. "Uh, ah," she stammered. "It is, but I- I mean, I was- I guess I'm just tired. Goodnight." She walked briskly back past Alain and down the hall without another word to him.

Alain watched her go, confused. _What just happened?_

 _Forget it, it doesn't matter. Lysander said not to bother them with their research. Just go train._

He turned and went back to the stairs. Something was still nagging him at the back of his mind, but he ignored it.

 _Forget it. It isn't important._

XXXXXXXXXXX

 **So, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for all the reviews I've been getting. I really, really appreciate each and every one.**

 **But, please review this chapter too!**

 **Oh, one more thing. The poll about Alain's age that I mentioned earlier in this story has been taken down. It seemed that most of you think that Alain is either 16, 17, or 18. In this story, I'm going with 18.**


	15. Doesn't Make Sense

Day 12: Doesn't Make Sense

Alain woke the next morning on a bench in the training room. _What am I doing here?_ he wondered.

Charizard leaned into his line of vision and nudged him. "Char," it growled.

The events of last night flooded back into his mind. _That's right, I came down here to train. I guess I fell asleep at some point._

"Char!" Charizard growled louder than before.

"What?" Alain asked his Pokemon.

Charizard raised it's head and looked pointedly at the analog clock over the training room door. It read seven fifty-eight.

Seven fifty-eight. He had two minutes to be out in the courtyard!

Jumping up from the bench, he recalled Charizard and raced out the door and out into the courtyard, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to make it look like he hadn't just woken up. Astrid, Gordon, Carl, and Jacklyn were already assembled outside, but the Elite Four were no where to be seen. Neither was Steven. Neither was Zara.

"What's going on?" he asked Gordon as he approached the group.

"Where have you been?" Gordon asked him, surprise evident on his face.

Alain grunted irritably and turned to Carl. "What's going on?" he repeated.

"What happened to you? We thought you were missing too!" Carl said, confused.

"Too?" Alain echoed, completely baffled. "Will someone please explain what is going on?" he demanded.

"The Champion and the Elite Four are looking for Zara," Astrid said. "Steven Stone came outside this morning and told the Elite Four something about she was missing."

"And good riddance!" Jacklyn added spitefully.

Alain could only stare at Astrid, dumbfounded. "Where is she now?" he forced out, his voice not wanting to cooperate with him. Shock resonated through him.

"I don't know," Astrid answered. "I'm only repeating what I heard them saying. Steven did have something in his hand when he came out, but I have no idea what it was. Might have been something of hers he found."

"They've been searching for her for almost an hour," Carl commented as he looked at his watch. "Get the feeling that means they aren't having any luck."

"Hope she's alright," Gordon mumbled.

"Why aren't you looking for her too?" Alain asked, still having to force the words out.

"Sidney said to stay here. He said he would be back in a few minutes to start the battles, but clearly he didn't mean it," Jacklyn said irritatedly.

"Oh, be quiet Jacklyn," Astrid said. "That isn't helping anyone."

Alain couldn't believe it. What had happened to Zara?

 _I swore I would protect her..._

 _Don't go jumping to conclusions,_ his mind told him, _you have no idea why or where she's gone. She could have just fallen asleep somewhere other than her room, and hasn't woken up yet._

 _And Steven can't find her? This place isn't that big._

 _She might be hiding._

 _Why?_ _Wait, she was attacked by a Pokemon yesterday..._

 _You don't know that. There was no sign of a fight in that training room._

 _Well, what else would she be hiding from?_

 _...Jacklyn?_

 _I have to find out what happened to her, who's been attacking her._

 _...Please let her be okay._

Just then, Lysander walked into the courtyard.

"Good morning," he greeted the students. No one replied, and everyone had a solemn face. "Why the long faces?" he asked.

"Zara's missing," Carl answered. "And we thought Alain was too, but he's here now."

"Where were you, anyway?" Astrid asked.

Alain dragged himself back to reality. "I fell asleep in one of the training rooms last night."

"Why were you in there?" Gordon asked.

"Couldn't sleep."

"I hear you," Carl said. "I think we all had a rough night, worrying about the competition."

 _That wasn't what I meant,_ Alain thought. His dream from last night came back to him and he shuddered inwardly.

"Do any of you know where she went?" Lysander asked.

"Not a clue," Astrid answered. "We didn't even know she was gone untill about an hour ago."

"Good riddance, I say," Jacklyn said spitefully again.

Alain clenched his hands into fists, then reached out and grabbed Jacklyn's arm. He pulled her to where she was facing him, then growled, "Stop saying that, Jacklyn, or I will wring your neck." Every ounce of anger he felt at himself he poured into his words and expression. In response, Jacklyn recoiled and tried to twist her way out of his grip. Alain tightened his hold untill Jacklyn whimpered in pain. "Got it?" he growled.

Jacklyn nodded, her eyes wide.

Alain released her arm, and threw it away from himself. Jacklyn stumbled and fell, clutching her arm to her chest. She glared at Alain, but he refused to look up at her. Instead he kept his eyes on his boots.

"Alain," Astrid said carefully, "what was that for?"

Alain took a deep breath and backed up till he was standing next to Lysander. "It's none of your business." To be honest, he wasn't sure. He really did feel like wringing Jacklyn's neck for what she had done to Zara yesterday, but he wanted to protect Zara too. And that included protecting her from insults.

Astrid glanced at Carl, who shrugged back at her. Silence fell over the courtyard.

Lysander finally broke the silence with, "No one has seen her since yesterday?"

"No," Gordon answered.

"She was in her room all of yesterday afternoon," Carl added.

"The Champion has not found her yet?" Lysander pressed on.

"Not that we know of. We've all been out here, waiting for them to get back," Astrid answered.

"Which doesn't look like it's going to be any time soon," Jacklyn mummbled.

Suddenly, Sidney came through the back door of the courtyard. He was shaking his head anxiously.

"Did you find her?" Astrid asked.

Sidney fixed her with a stare so full of sadness, Alain knew what the answer was. "None of you has any idea where she could have gone, do you?"

"What do you mean, 'where she could have gone,'?" Alain asked firmly. Beside him, Lysander shifted closer to him, but he ignored it.

Sidney hestitated, then face-palmed and sighed defeatedly. "Me and my big mouth. You might as well know. Zara left the school last night."

"She what!" Carl exclaimed.

"Why?" Astrid questioned.

"Where did she go?" Gordon asked.

Sidney held up his hand to quiet them. "I don't know. I was hoping one of you might be able to answer that last question for me. You see, she left us this note," and he held up a crumpled sticky note, "that tells us she was leaving. We've watched all the security footage we have of the entire place, and we can't find any footage that shows her leaving. We have no idea where to even start looking. Of course, Zara knew where all the cameras were installed, so it is possible she slipped our without being recorded. However, that doesn't help us in trying to find her. I came out here to ask all of you to read the note and see if it reminds you of anything she said, absolutely anything, that might give us a hint where to go."

"Okay," Astrid said, and Gordon and Carl nodded. The three of them stepped closer to Sidney, and Carl took the note from him.

Alain took a step toward Sidney, intent on reading the note, but a hand reached out and stopped him. Lysander drew him back and whispered to him, "You shouldn't need to read the note."

"Sir? Why not? What if I can help them find her?" Alain whispered back.

"You shouldn't know about anything she has said recently at all. Unless, you haven't been obeying my orders about staying away from her."

Alain hesitated for a long moment, then answered, "Sir." Guilt burned inside him, but Lysander was right. He wouldn't know anything that could help because he'd been trying to stay away from her. _Follow orders, and then Mairin will smile again._

Lysander nodded his approval, and smiled ever so slightly.

The side door of the courtyard swung open just then, and the rest of the students came strolling outside from the cafeteria.

"That doesn't look like battling to me!" Tracy shouted across the field. "What's up?"

"Zara's gone, and we're trying to help find her," Gordon called back to her.

Suddenly, a high-pitched "What!" ripped through the calm, and Wally ran out of the crowd and up to Sidney. "Where's Zara? Where did she go? What happened?" he demanded.

"I don't know, kid," Sidney answered quietly. He tried to lay a hand on Wally's shoulder, but Wally brushed it off.

"You're an Elite Four member, it can't be that hard for you to find her. So where is she?" he demanded again. Tears were starting to sparkle in the corners of his eyes, but he blinked hard to get rid of them.

"We're trying, Wally, believe me we are," Sidney answered. He sounded close to tears himself. "Maybe you can help. Here," and he held out the note to Wally, "Read this and see if it tells you anything."

The green haired trainer took the note. "Anything about Zara?"

"Anything about where she might have gone," Astrid corrected gently.

Wally stared at the note for a long time before he handed it back. "No, it doesn't," he said quietly.

"It doesn't for me either," Carl added.

"Me either," Gordon said.

"Me either," Astrid finished.

Wally sniffed and a tear ran down his cheek. He quickly swipped it away.

"Why would she just leave in the middle of the night?" Tracy asked.

Alain listened harder. That was exactly the question he was wondering.

"So no one would see her leave," Sidney answered.

"Well, yeah, but why wouldn't you want anyone to see you leave?" Tracy went on.

"So you wouldn't be stopped," Carl answered. "I don't understand why she would leave in the first place. She was doing so well in the competition."

"Maybe she had an emergency to attend to," Alex offered.

"And she wouldn't tell the Champion about it first?" Sidney asked sceptically.

"Maybe she thought she'd be back by now," Alex continued.

"The note says she wasn't planning on coming back," Astrid said.

Silence fell. Alain racked his brain for any reason Zara would leave, but nothing occured to him. _They're all right, Zara would never leave without telling anyone why unless she had a very good reason._

 _Just forget about it. You can't help them look for her anyway. You have orders to carry out, and Mairin to worry about. Forget about Zara and leave it up to the Elite Four and the Champion. They'll be able to find her..._

 _...But I promised I would keep her safe!. Ugh, why can't I help them look and complete my mission for Lysander too?_

"Well," Sidney said, "I didn't come out here to get all of you upset. I came out to start today's battles. Does anyone want to go first?"

"I do," Alain answered immediately. _Anything to distract me._

"I will too," Gordon said.

"Okay, head to your trainer's boxes," Sidney instructed. Both trainers headed onto the field and stood in a box. Sidney came up to the side of the field and began to state the rules. "Are you both ready?" he finished.

"Ready," both trainers replied.

"Then battle begin!" Sidney shouted, throwing his hand down.

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain cried, throwing Charizard's pokeball. The Flame Pokemon burst onto the field in a vibrant flash of white light. Charizard turned to look back at him, its eyes sad. It growled meaningfully at him, and Alain wasn't sure what to say to it. "What?" he finally asked, his tone gruff. Charizard just looked away.

"Glalie, let's put up a fight!" Gordon shouted, and threw his own pokeball. Glaile burst out and hovered over the field, its expression impassible.

Alain took a deep breath and pushed every troubled thought to the back of his mind, forcing himself to focus on the battle ahead. "Keystone, respond to my heart. Charizard, Mega Evolve!" He touched his keystone, and it reacted with Charizard's Mega Stone. Charizard roared as it Mega Evolved.

"Glaile, show them your power! Mega Evolve!" Gordon cried. Glalie's Mega Stone reacted with Gordon's keystone, and the Face Pokemon Mega Evolved.

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered. Charizard took to the air and charged Glalie.

"Use Crunch!" Gordon commanded. Glalie zipped forward its teeth glowing with energy. ChaeiArd swipped at it with its Dragon Claw, but missed, and Glalie bit down on the Dragon Claw with its Crunch. An explosion sounded, and both Pokemon fell back.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

"Dodge it!" Gordon shouted.

Glalie floated out of the Flamethrower's path and off to Charizard's side.

"Now get above them and use Blizzard!" Gordon shouted.

Glalie zoomed above Charizard, and charged a Blizzard attack. Charizard tried to turn and follow it, but wings just can't manuver you through the air the way levitation can. The Blizzard slammed down at Charizard from above it.

"Dodge it!" Alain shouted.

Charizard quickly barrel rolled to the right and avoided the Blizzard.

"Now Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

Charizard surged upward at Glalie, it's claws glowing green.

"Intercept with Blizzard!" Gordon commanded.

Glalie began charging the attack, but I wasn't fast enough, and Charizard raked it's claws down Glalie's face. The Ice type gave an angry roar, faltered mid-air, but didn't fall. Seconds after it had taken the attack, it recovered and zipped up above Charizard. With a roar, it released its Blizzard attack.

"Intercept with Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

Charizard blasted a hole through the middle of the Blizzard, searing Glalie with its flames. However, the rest of the Ice type attack struck its wings and tail, causing bits of ice to form there. Charizard's wings buckled under the extra weight of the ice, and it plumeted out of the sky. When it struck the ground, it kicked up a huge cloud of dust.

"Quick Glalie, use Earthquake!" Gordon shouted.

Glalie levetated downward untill it hovered just above the ground, then slammed its body against the dirt. Shock waves spread out from around it, and the ground started to shake. When the waves reached Charizard, it roared in pain.

"Charizard, get into the air!" Alain cried.

When the tremors stopped, Charizard flared its wings and launched itself into the air. It was breathing hard, but otherwise showed no signs of injury.

"Use Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

"Get out of its way, Glalie!" Gordon countered.

Charizard charged Glalie, a torrent a fire leaving its mouth, but Glalie only zipped away from it. Every time Charizard closed, Glalie would make a sharp and unexpected turn, and leave Charizard behind. Finally, Charizard gave up and landed in front of Alain. Glalie followed suit, coming to float in front of Gordon.

"Use Earthquake!" Gordon commanded.

"Fly up, Charizard!" Alain ordered.

Charizard launched itself off the ground again, as Glalie slammed its body against the ground. The Flame Pokemon avoided the Ground type move entirely, and it was poised to strike Glalie.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

Tucking its wings in, Charizard went into a dive. It struck Glalie across the face once again with its Dragon Claw, and the Face Pokemon cried out angrily.

"Use Crunch!" Gordon commanded.

As Charizard swept past Glalie after it struck it, Glalie lurched forward and Crunched down on Charizard's tail. Now it was Charizard's turn to roar in pain, but instead of bitting and immediatly letting go, Glalie held on to Charizard's tail.

"Good job, Glalie, now sling it!" Gordon shouted.

Glalie gave on hard tug on Charizard's tail, then began to zip around in a tight circle. It began to spin Charizard around and around by its tail, then let go. Charizaid went flying head first toward the back wall. It flailed a bit, and manage to get its arms and legs out in front of it to protect itself before it crashed. Dust flew up around it when it hit the wall.

Alain watched Charizard crash with dull eyes. _This is too easy...it isn't distracting me at all._ "Use Dragon Claw!"

The dust settled in seconds, revealing Charizard standing and its claws flashing from finishing a Dragon Claw. Deep gashes marked the wall where it had crashed.

"What?" Gordon exclaimed. "It blocked itself from the crash?"

Charizard lifted off the ground and flew over Alain's head. It landed on the field directly in front of its trainer.

"Use Blast Burn!" Alain said.

"Intercept with Sheer Cold!" Gordon countered.

Charizard punched the ground, it's body surrounded by a flaming aura. The ground around it began to break up into chunks with intense heat pouring from between them. Glalie lowered itself to the ground and surrounded itself with a pale blue aura. The ground around it began to freeze, steadly becoming covered with a thick layer of ice. Both moves collided and struggled to overpower the other. It didn't take long for Charizard's Blast Burn to win out. The Fire type move swept over the ice covered field and straight up to Glaile, exploding underneath it.

A wave of smoke washed over Alain, and he struggled to see through it. When it cleared, Glaile lay on the ground with swirls in its eyes. It flashed and reverted to its normal form.

"Glaile is unable to battle, so Charizard wins. Therefore the victory goes to Alain!" Sidney announced.

Alain recalled Charizard and left the field without a word to Gordon. _Zara's gone. I have to make sure she's alright. But Mairin's waiting for Chespie to get better back in Kalos. I have to finish my mission. I have to keep gathering Mega Evolution energy._ These thoughts struggled inside him untill he felt ready to scream.

"Do you want to battle next, or do you want Gordon to?" Sidney asked him. The question only barely registered in Alain's mind.

"Gordon," he answered distractedly. He glanced around the field, searching for anything to get his mind off its troubled train of thought. But Lysander had already left, and there was no one else Alain felt like talking to. _I feel like talking to Zara,_ he thought, but quickly buried the thought. It hurt too much to think about.

He wandered out of the courtyard and into the hallways, only partially aware of his surroundings. In truth, nothing around him mattered to him.

 _I swore I would protect her. I swore it! Now she's gone. I have no idea where she is or if she's safe. I will never see her again. I'll never be able to ask her why she was so angry at me. Never be able to tell her I didn't lie to her._

 _Wherever she is, I hope she's safe and happy._

 _What made her leave? Why would she leave Steven and the Elite Four? Why would she leave Wally?_

 _...Why would she leave me?_

Alain clenched his fists and leaned heavily against the wall on his right. He pounded the wall angrily, and screwed his eyes shut. He wanted Zara back, he missed her, he cared about her. Possibly even...loved her. She was pretty, and smart, and talented, and funny. At least when she wasn't angry. She never seemed to be angry, or anything other than happy. Unless...

"Hold it right there," a voice said next to him.

Alain jumped slightly and jerked to face whoever had spoken. It was Wally. The young trainer had a very determined and slightly aggressive facial expression.

"What did you do to Zara?" Wally demanded.

"What?" Alain asked, confused.

"I said, what did you do to Zara?"

"Nothing. Leave me alone." Alain turned to walk away, but Wally quickly blocked his path.

"You may be stronger than me, but you don't scare me," Wally said firmly. "Zara said you lied to her about something. Tell me what it was and why she isn't here."

Alain had to admit, Wally was brave to make such an accusation. "I didn't lie to her about anything," he replied flatly.

"Then why did Zara say you did?" Wally pressed.

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I am not."

"Yes you are! Zara wouldn't lie to me, ever!" Wally shouted. He threw himself at Alain and began to pummel him with his fists. "Why did she leave?!" he shouted over and over. Every shout hurt Alain a lot more than all the punches combined. He didn't move, simply let Wally hit him. It reflected his mood perfectly.

When Wally grew tried, he pulled away from Alain and said coldly, "I know you did this. I'm going to find her, whether you tell me why she left or not!" And shooting Alain a final glare, he ran down the hall and around a corner.

 _I never lied to her about anything...I wouldn't. Why did she leave?_

 _I wish I knew._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara cracked her eyes open groggily. Bright light filled her vision, but not the natural kind. The kind of light that comes from industrial strength light bulbs. Her head pounded like mad at the intrusion on her vision, and Zara screwed her eyes shut again.

"She's awake."

Those two words were more than enough to wake Zara up the rest of the way. She opened her eyes wide and looked up at the speaker. The woman with purple hair.

"We wondered if you would ever wake up, Sleeping Beauty," the woman taunted.

Every sense now fully alert, Zara tried to remember how she had gotten here. _T_ _hey must have grabbed me in the hall last night. I should have left sooner. I could have gotten away. I could have been safe._

"Not talking, are we?"

Zara's eyes darted around the room taking in her situation. She was sitting in a crude, heavy, wooden chair, her feet tied to the legs of said chair, her arms bound behind her. Judging by how much of the room she could see, she guessed she was up against the left wall of this room. The green haired woman stood off to to back of the room, behind several tables covered in glass vials, both full and empty, and various scientific instuments. She fiddled with her goggles every now and then, as if adjusting them in some way. Other than the tables that held the vials and such, and the chair she was tied to, the room was bare. No furniture, no wall decorations, no carpet, no windows even. Nothing but white walls and red clad people.

"What's the matter, girl? Litleo got your tongue?" Zara drew her attention back to the woman in front of her to see her reaching out a hand toward her face. Zara flinched away from her, turning her head to try and stay out of her reach, but the woman grasped her chin firmly and forced Zara to face her. "Say something," the woman demanded, "or are you mute? If your don't talk, there are other ways to find out." She slid her hand into her pocket and pulled out a pokeball, letting Zara watch it as it expanded in her hand.

"No, no, I can talk," Zara said in a very hurried and small voice. Whatever these other ways were, she didn't want to find out.

"That's better," the woman said. She put the pokeball back in her pocket and knelt down so that she was eye level with Zara. "You know, I don't believe we've met. My name is Celosia. What's yours?"

Zara wanted to shout at her that they had met, that she had murrdered her parents in cold blood, but all she could get out was a shaky, "Z-Zara."

"Zara," Celosia repeated slowly. "How old are you, Zara?"

"Seventeen, almost eighteen. What do you want with me?"

"I'll ask the questions. Now, do you know where your parents are?"

"Why?" Zara dared to ask.

Celosia looked ready to give a biting retort, but restrained herself. "It's a rather interesting story really. Perhaps you'd like to here it?"

Zara didn't really, but she figured it didn't matter what she wanted, so she nodded.

Celosia stood up and took a step backward. "You may not have realized this, Zara, when you heard us talking to your parents-"

 _So Alain told them my story too,_ Zara thought.

"-but we are a scientific organization that conducts research to improve the world. We came to your parents eight years ago with a business proposal. They had been conducting research on a certain mineral that, in its raw state, is completely harmless, but if altered in the right ways, could grant unlimited power to any Pokemon. They had found an entire deposit of this mineral. We came to them wanting to buy this mineral from them, and reached an agreement where they mined the mineral and gave it to us, for a handsome amount of money." The green haired woman bumped a vial on the table, and Celosia snapped at her, "Careful Bryony!"

Bryony only glared back at her and continued to adjust her goggles.

Celosia turned back to Zara. "Your parents helped us for several months. They supplied us with as much mineral as we asked for and we payed them well. Both sides were happy with the deal. Untill your parents started to ask questions. Too many questions. And they didn't seem to like the answers they received. At first all they did was ask, but steadily they began to offer us less and less mineral. They claimed their deposit was running dry. Eventually they stopped giving us any mineral whatsoever."

"And so you killed them," Zara finished for her.

"Unfortunately," Celosia said with a shrug, as if killing someone were no more important than throwing a pokeball. "They were stopping science and progress. But before we took care of them, we couldn't get them to tell us where the deposit was. We still need the mineral. Which is where you come in. Being related to them as you are, it naturally follows that you would know where the deposit is. We want to know."

Zara stared back at her, pale as a sheet. "I don't know," she forced out.

"Come now, that can't be true. You told Alain your parents conducted their research in your house. Surely they talked to you about it now and then."

 _I should never have told Alain anything,_ Zara thought. "No, they didn't," she forced out.

"You must know something about it," Celosia pressed. "Perhaps they had a map somewhere that marked its location, or something like that."

Zara closed her eyes and pretended to think very hard. "No, I don't think so," she finally said quietly.

"Well, think harder then!" Celosia snapped. She raised her hand to strike Zara, and Zara cowered away from her. " When you think of where the deposit is," Celosia said, lowering her hand, "be sure you tell us. It will shorten your stay here considerably." And without another word she joined Bryony at the tables and began talking to her in hushed whispers.

 _I have no idea where that mineral deposit is,_ Zara thought hopelessly, _so I guess my stay here will last a long time._

Then another thought occurred to her. _Where is here? Where am I?_

Nothjng in the room offered her any clues. A bare room with white walls was something you could find pretty much anywhere. For all Zara knew, she could be tied up in Lysander Labs in the Kalos region. She had no idea how long she'd been out, so it was perfectly logical that she had been out long enough to make the entire flight to Kalos. If only there was a window in here! Then she could at least take an educated guess at the time and her location.

There was knock at the door, and Celosia and Bryony both looked up from their conversation. "Come in," Bryony said.

The door opened slowly, and Lysander stepped into the room. "Ah, so she is awake."

"She only just woke up, sir," Bryony stated.

Lysander stepped toward Zara, stopping about halfway between her and the door. "Have you explained what it is we want from her?" he asked Celosia.

"Yes, sir."

"And where is the deposit?"

"She refuses to say, sir," Celosia answered.

Lysander turned his cold gaze on Zara for a moment, studying her, then turned back to Bryony. "Have you finished your experiments?"

"Yes, sir. All of our remaining samples have been gathered and refined as far as possible. We cannot continue the refining process untill we have a larger piece of mineral, something for the smaller pieces to bind to. And we don't have one."

"Have you searched her?"

"Not yet. I only recently finished my call to Xerosic, so I've been trying to follow his instructions for the settings on these," and she tapped the rim of her goggles

"Do so now."

Bryony nodded and walked up to Zara. She stopped an arm's length away, and leaned in closer, tapping tye side of her goggles lightly. Zara heard a couple of soft beeps, thus she guessed Bryony was pushing some kind of buttons. She wished her legs weren't tied; Bryony was close enough she could have kicked her. Not that kicking her would have done Zara any good.

"Ah ha," Bryony said softly. She reached a hand out toward Zara, and Zara pulled away from her. "Now, now," Bryony said in a silky voice, "I'm not going to hurt you. Just hold still."

Zara still pulled away from her as much as her bonds would allow, but Bryony kept extending her arm untill she reached Zara's pocket. She slipped her hand inside and Zara felt her rumaging through the contents. Change, bottle caps, safety pins, and-Zara froze, remembering just what her pockts held, just as Bryony drew her hand out. In between her pointer finger and thumb she grasped Zara's mother's silver ring.

"No!" Zara snapped. "Give that back!"

"Here we are. A perfect sample," Bryony said. She tossed the ring to Celosia, who caught it in one hand and pried out the stone with a knife she held in her other hand. The stone clattered onto the table noisly, only to be snatched up by Bryony with a pair of tweezers. The two women set to work with their various scientific instruments, dunking the stone in first one solution, then another. In the commotion they made, neither of them noticed the stoneless ring fall to the floor.

Zara could only stare dumbly at the ring as it fell to the floor. _My mother's ring..._ Suddenly rage boiled up inside her, and she lunged forward in her chair, straining against her bonds. The bonds didn't budge. She tried again, and nearly tipped the chair over.

"Be still over there!" Celosia commanded without looking up from her work.

Zara ignored her and continued her struggle to get free.

"You had best do as she says," Lysander told her. "Celosia is not a patient woman."

Zara paid him no mind. When she did finally succeed in tipping over the heavy chair, Celosia banged something metal she was holding down on the table and stormed over to Zara. She righted the chair and leaned down untill she was looking Zara in the eye. "I said, be still!" she hissed.

Zara didn't answer her, but she stared back defiantly, rage making her bolder.

Celosia studied her face for a moment before adding, "And if you don't, I'll make sure you never see these again." Out of her pocket she drew a belt with six pokeballs on it. Zara recognized them immediately. They were her Pokemon. Her eyes widened, and she quickly relinquished her defiant stare. "Good girl," Celosia said mockingly before placing the pokeballs on the nearest table, just out of Zara reach.

"How long will it take you to finish refining this?" Lysander asked.

"About ten hours," Bryony replied.

"Good. Keep working, and let me know as soon as you finish." And with that Lysander turned back toward the door. He turned the knob and opened it wide. As he stepped out, Zara leaned forward in her chair as far as she could and peered out the door.

What she saw shocked her.

Outside was a hallway with tile floors and clean white walls. But that wasn't the part that shocked Zara. What shocked her was the symbol painted above the door across the hall. The symbol of a Mega Stone and keystone. The symbol of the Mega Evolution Academy.

 _They never took me out of the School,_ Zara thought. _I can escape! I could get out of here and get Steven! Wait, Steven! Maybe he can hear me from here! The door's wide open; why not?_

Zara threw her head back and yelled as loud as she could, "Steven Stone! Help me!"

All three of the team members turned to stare at her, but none of them moved to quiet her. After the third yell, Zara stopped and started at them. She'd expected all of them to rush at her and try to cover the mouth or threaten her to make her be quiet. But doing nothing was the last thing she had expected.

Then it occurred to her, they had never gagged her to begin with. Surely they would have thought to do that... unless...they had some other way to keep sound from getting outside.

Celosia and Bryony looked at each other and smiled. Celosia walked slowly over toward the door, but when she reached the place where Lysander had been standing, she put out her hand and tapped against something. Suddenly the air around her hand seemed to distort a bit. "Soundproof force field," she said smugly. "No sound comes in, and no sound goes out, unless we allow it." And Bryony held up a small remote control.

Zara slumped in her chair and looked away from the women, trying to hide her face as tears formed in her eyes. That must be why Drake didn't hear her screaming yesterday. Meaning no one could possibly hear her now. She was powerless against them. They had her trapped, and there was no escape.

 _Why didn't I leave when I still could?_

 _I'm trapped at my enemies mercy. No one knows where I am. No one can hear me calling for help. No one can hear me screaming from fear._

 _This is my worst nightmare...except I'm not dreaming._

"Now," Celosia said in a smooth voice, "I want you to tell me everything you know about the mineral deposit. It doesn't matter how long the story takes. We have plenty of time."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

The day passed very slowly for Alain. Gordon had lost his second battle, against Astrid, thus Sidney had decided that a third battle was unnecessary. He had gone back to helping Steven search for Zara, and several of the students had started their own searches.

Unfortunatly for Alain, that meant he didn't have another battle left to distract him.

Ever since lunchtime, he'd been sitting in his room, thinking about Mairin and Zara. Protecting them both was his goal, but why did they have to conflict like this?

He wished that he had one of the girls here. They would probably help lighten his mood, with their carefree attitudes. Both always smiling.

Well, at least they were untill he told Mairin to leave him alone, which led to Chespie getting knocked out. And untill Zara told him he'd been lying to her about something, right after Celosia and Bryony arrived. What could she have been talking about?

He shoved the thoughts out of his mind and left his room. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing except he knew he missed the people he loved.

Alain walked down the hall, going to the only place he thought he could find a decent distraction. Namely, the training rooms. However, he was so caught up in his own thoughts that when he rounded the corner to get to the stairs, he ran smack into Brittney.

"Whoa!" Brittney exclaimed, and staggered backward from the blow of colliding with Alain. "Careful there, please!"

"Sorry," Alain said absentmindedly.

Gordon ran up behind Brittney and grabbed her to keep her from falling. "You okay, Britt?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Though I think if I'd struck him any harder, I'd have a bruise bigger than the one Zara had," Brittney answered.

Alain's attention snapped to Brittney's face at the mention of Zara's name. "What did you say?"

"I said, I think if I struck you any harder, I'd have a bruise bigger than the one Zara had," Brittney repeated.

"Zara had a bruise?"

"Yeah, across her chest, like this," and Brittney ran her hand across the upper part of her chest, just below her shoulder blades. "It looked like someone hit her with a baseball bat."

"Where did she get it?" Alain asked urgently.

"I don't know," Brittney answered, "she kept spacing out and never told me."

"Why didn't she say anything about it to anyone else?"

"From the way she was staring at it, looked like she didn't know it was there till I pointed it out."

 _She was attacked by something!_ Alain thought. _She wasn't making all up any stories at all. Which means there must be something in that training room that I missed._

Without another word, he raced past Brittney and Gordon, down the stairs, and into the training room he and Zara had been in yesterday.

"Charizard, let's go!" he cried, throwing Charizard's pokeball. The Flame Pokemon burst out and glanced around the room. After a moment, it walked up to a punching bag and swiped at it powerfully.

"We're not going to train this time, Charizard," Alain told it. "I need you to help me look for something, anything that would indicate there was a fight in here."

Charizard stared at him for a moment, and Alain was almost sure that it smiled, if only for a moment. Then it turned to the side of the room where Zara had been training with her Lairon and began searching. Alain joined it and began by looking at the punching bag Zara had been using.

The two searched for over an hour with no luck. Nothing in the enitre room had a single scratch on it, absolutely nothing. When Charizard started snorting smoke in frustration, Alain knew it was time to give up.

"Come on, Charizard," he said reluctantly, "Let's do some training."

Chairzard nodded at him and lumbered over to the other side of the room. Alain followed, letting his feet drag on the floor. His boots tapped out a steady rhythm on the floor.

 _Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

Then _squeak._

Alain froze. Had he imagined it?

He sild his boot back over the spot he'd just stepped on.

 _Squeak._

Dropping to his knees, he inspected the spot on the floor carefully. Nothing looked out of the ordinary about it; it looked exactly like all the other tiles in the room, so it was no wonder no one had noticed it. But when he ran his hand over it, he could feel and area the size of your average desk top that was smoother than the rest of the the floor. Like someone had put and extra coat of finish on this one area.

 _But why would you do that...unless you were trying to cover up something else that was already there._

He scratched the spot with his thumbnail, but he didn't leave a single mark behind. _There has to be something here_ , he thought desperately. _Someone put this clear stuff here for a reason. If I can get it off the floor, I can find out why it was here in the first place._

He looked around for something he could us try and scratch the spot that would work better than his thumbnail. Then he remembered Charizard, and called his Pokemon over. "Charizard, use Dragon Claw on this spot," he commanded, tapping the place on the floor.

Charizard raised its claw, and when it turned green, sliced it across the floor. But, to Alain's surprise, even Charizard's claws didn't leave a scratch.

Alain stared at the spot for a minute, then growled in frustration and banged his fist against the floor. Charizard looked at the unscathed floor, then at its trainer, smacked its tail against the ground angrily, and blasted the floor with a Flamethrower. Alain had to jerk back to avoid getting singed.

"What was that for?" he asked his Pokemon.

Charizard stopped its Flamethrower and turned to look at him. "Char," it growled apologetically.

"Its fine. But next time..." Alain trailed off as his mind registered the floor in front of him. The place that had been glossy now lay blackened and smoking in front of him. Charizard's claws might not have affected the polish on the floor, but its fire certianly had. The polish had melted under its heat, leaving the floor beneath it completely visible, save for a few black blobs of melted goop. "...next time, do that again," Alain finished. He smiled a small smile, and Charizard growled happily.

Now that the polish was gone, Alain could see clearly what it had been put there to cover up. Scratches. Lots and lots of scratches. Some were as long as his arm other as long as a pencil, but the whole area that had been covered in polish was covered in scratches.

 _She was definately attacked,_ Alain thought decisively. _Now I have to figure out by what or who?_

There wasn't a soul Alain could think of that would want to hurt Zara. For that matter, even if there was someone who wanted to hurt her, Alain couldn't think of anyone who Zara would run away from if threatened by. Except...

His face hardened as the answer came to him. _Team Magma._

Someone from that Team must have been sent here to try and capture her! Clearly their attempt had failed, but Zara must have been scare out of her wits. Alain had seen how she acted when she was only talking about the possibility of being attacked; if that was any indicator, she must have been terrified when she actually started being attacked. _No wonder she ran away,_ he thought.

This answered the "by what or who" question, but it didn't tell him where she'd gone. Or if she was alright. _Please let her have gotten somewhere safe and not have been captured be Team Magma or Courtney._

 _What am I thinking? Zara knows how to take care of herself. Wherever she went, she's propbably fine._

 _But you don't know that for sure..._

He shook his head irritably. Even if she was fine, he'd never fine out if he didn't know where she went. And the easiest thing he could do to figure that out was read the note she left for Steven. Zara probably hadn't left any specific details as to where she had been headed, but the note might at least give him an idea of where to start. And it might also confirm or refute his concusion that it was Team Magma she was running from.

He stood up, recalled Charizard, and marched, determined, out of the training room. Purpose filled him, the same kind of purpose he'd felt when he'd left Lysander Labs on his mission for Mega Evolution energy. A surge of energy and passion raced through him as he reached the stairs, and he tore up them two at a time, blind to the many stares he received.

He cleared the top step and was tearing down the third story hall, when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Alain!" It was unquestionably Lysander.

Alain reluctantly stopped and turned to face the tall red head. "Sir?"

"Where are you going in such a hurry, Alain?" Lysander asked.

"To find Steven. I found traces of a fight in the training room Zara was in yesterday, and I think I know what happened to her, but I need to read the note she left him to be sure," Alain answered, shifting anxiously from one foot to the other. He expected Lysander to let him go find Steven right away.

It truly surprised him, then, when Lysander said, "No."

Alain stared at him in confusion. "But Sir, I think-"

"I don't care what you think," Lysander said with an unusually cold voice, "you are not to read that note."

"But Sir-"

"No but's, Alain. Do not read that note. That is an order."

Alain closed his mouth helplessly.

"I hope I make myself clear, Alain." Lysander said firmly. Without another word, he strode back down the hall, where Alain noticed Celosia and Bryony were waiting for him. When Lysander reached them, Alain saw them exchange a few words and then Celosia turned and went downstairs.

 _Now what am I supposed to do?_ Alain thought as he watched them go. He kept his head down, staring at the floor in anger and confusion, his fists clenched at his sides. _I have to find Zara. I have to make sure she's alright. But I have to follow Lysander's orders, or Mairin might never smile again._

 _What do I do? I don't want to lose either of them._

He raised his head and squared his jaw. _I tell Steven what I've found._

 _Wait, I can't. If I tell him that I think she's running from Team Magma, I'll have to explain why I think that. So I'll have to tell him Zara's story. And I promised I wouldn't._

 _Isn't this a worthy exception?_ his mind thought.

Alain weighed his options, but as he did, the thought of Zara's devistated face at hearing he'd told Lysander her story surfaced in his head. _No,_ he thought decisively, _I can't tell. If she is fine, wherever she is, and I tell Steven, and she finds out, she'll never have anything to do with me again. I already broke my promise to her once; I won't do it again._

 _Well, even if I can't read the note, I can still find Steven and see if he's found anything that might tell me where she went._

Walking to Steven's room, he knocked, but when he didn't recieve an answer, headed back downstairs and continued searching. He finally found him just as the whistle was blowing for supper. The Hoenn Champion was staring at a wall full of computer monitors, searching though hours of recordings.

When Steven didn't notice Alain walk in, he cleared his throat. Steven's head shot up at the sound, and he turned quickly toward the doorway. As soon as his full face was visible, more guilt washed over Alain. Steven's eyes were bloodshot, and had dark circles underneath them. His jaw was squared, his mouth set in a worried frown. He looked completely exhausted, but clearly was to worried and determined to stop searching.

"Oh, hello, Alain. Can I help you?" Steven said as soon as he noticed him. His voice sounded hoarse.

"I just wondered if you'd found her yet," Alain asked.

Steven sighed. "Not yet, I'm afraid." He turned back to the monitors. "I've been looking though the security footage from last night all day, and I haven't found a trace of her leaving. It's like she turned herself invisible to avoid being seen."

Alain nodded, but said nothing.

"You don't have any idea where she could have gone, do you?" Steven asked him.

Alain shook his head. _It's true, I don't have any idea where she's gone. And by that, I'm guessing neither does Steven._

Steven sighed again. "Well, thank you anyway."

Alain silently turned and left the room. He plodded into the cafeteria and sat alone. He managed to eat somthing, but he wasn't sure what it was. Everything tasted the same, and it all stuck in his throat.

When he reached his bedroom, Gordon was already there, asleep and snoring louder than an Exploud shouts. Alain showered and lay down on his bed. He threw a pillow over his head to keep out the noise, but he knew it would be a long time before he fell asleep. And not beause of the snoring.

Feelings and thoughts swirled around in his mind like a hurricane, threatening to spill over into any of a dozen emotions.

 _Protect Mairin. You would give anything for Mairin. Heal Chespie. See her smile again. Fix your mistake. Don't lose her. She's not that irritating. She makes you happy._

 _Protect Zara. Find her. She can handle herself. Explain you didn't lie. She already hates you. Don't lose her. You would give anything up for Zara. She makes you smile. She doesn't want you around. Read her note. You know you can't live without knowing she's safe. She's gone forever._

 _Forever._ Alain felt like crying at that. He never cried. _No, no!_

 _Please someone help me figure this out._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Well guys, I hope I'm stil doing a good job with this story. I keep getting the feeling that I'm not keeping Alain in character properly, but perhaps I'm just overthinking it. Is there anything else I need to improve on? Zara's character? Clarity in the story line? Wordiness?**

 **Please review and let me know!**


	16. Truth Be Told

Day 13: Truth Be Told

Alain reached out and ran his hand through Mairin's hair playfully. She giggled and batted his hand away, making him smile. He sighed happily and leaned back against the huge oak tree behind him. His favorite tree, the tallest one in Professor Sycamore's habitat area. He gazed up at sky through the thick leaves, the smile never leaving his face. This was the best place to be in the whole world.

Mairin scooted closer to him and layed her head against his arm, snuggling against him. Chespie jumped out of her lap as she relaxed, and scrambled clumsily across Alain's lap. It tripped just as it cleared his left leg, and went tumbling into the grass.

"Chespie, are you okay?" Mairin asked, worry in her voice.

Chespie jumped up in response and said its name happily.

"I think it's fine, Mairin," Zara said happily from above them. She sat on a tree branch above Alain, looking down at him and Mairin from above. Quick as a whip, she clambored down to the ground and crouched next to Chespie, searching it for injuries. When the Grass type smiled at her after a minute of her probing, she let it go back to Mairin and sat back against the oak tree on Alain's other side. Alain laid a hand on her arm, and Zara smoothly slid her hand into his.

 _Perfect,_ Alain thought. _This is perfect._ He closed his eyes and gave another contented sigh.

"I feel like I could stay here forever," Zara said softly.

"Alain?" Mairin asked.

"Hmm?" he answered, not opening his eyes.

"Do you want to stay here forever?"

"Yes, Mairin. I do."

"With both of us?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"But what if one of us leaves?"

Alain opened his eyes and looked straight a her. "Then I'll bring you back again. Whatever it takes."

"Even if we've gone to the end of the earth?" Zara asked playfully.

"Even then," he affirmed, turning to face her.

"But what if we both leave, and you have to go get us both back at the same time?" Mairin asked. "Wouldn't you have to only get one of us?"

"No, Mairin. It would just take me longer to bring you both back here," Alain replied. "I'd keep looking for both of you as long as it took. Even if I had to go to the end of the earth."

Zara smiled at that and layed her head on his shoulder.

Across the habitat, Professor Sycamore leaned out of the lab door and called, "Alain! Guess what I just discovered!"

Alain leaned forward and prepared to call back and ask what it was, when it started getting darker. Much darker, like thick thunder clouds had been pulled over the sky. Then darker like someone had thrown a blanket over his head. Alain's vision of the habitat dimmed untill he couldn't have seen his hand in front of his face, much less Professor Sycamore. It got quiet too. The sounds that the Pokemon were making in the trees lessened untill it finally died out altogether.

"What in the world?" he said.

"Alain, what's going on?" Mairin asked fearfully.

"What happened?" Zara asked softly, seemingly both cautious and curious.

"I don't know. Maybe-" Alain began, but was cut off when the ground three yards away from his feet began to break apart. Huge cracks formed in the grass, and light poured our of them. Not natural light, however, but deep red dangerous light. Upon standing up, Alain realised it was coming from molten lava the flowed below the cracked earth. It hissed dangerously as it rolled in the cracks.

"How in the world-" Zara began, but stopped when then cracks began to spread. Slowly they crawled across the ground toward the three trainers.

Alain wasted no time. "Climb the tree. Hurry!"

He grabbed the lowest branch on the oak tree behind them and hauled himself up, then looked back to see if the other two were following. Zara was still on the ground, hoisting Mairin up so she could reach the branch Alain was on. He reached down a hand and pulled her up. The cracks had covered half the distance to the tree.

Alain grabbed Mairin around her waist and lifted her up to the next highest branch. She grabbed it and kept climbing. Alain turned back to Zara to see her handing Chespie to him. He grabbed the Grass type and set it on the branch Mairin had just been on. The cracks had cover three-quarter of the distance to the tree.

"Keep climbing, I'll be right behind you!" Zara shouted up at him. He wanted to shout back for her to get up here right now, but there was no time to argue. He climbed after Mairin untill he was four branches from the ground, then turned back to Zara. Haste must have made her clumsy, because she was only just scrambling onto the first branch. The cracks had reached the base of the tree, but the tree remained steady, seemingly undaunted by the change in its foundation.

Zara pulled herself onto the branch and started to rise and reach for the next one. Alain relaxed ever so slightly now that she was off the ground. But it wouldn't last.

As Zara reached up for the next tree branch, the one under her gave a violently shudder and a crack split the quiet. _No, don't break,_ Alain pleaded silently. _Please don't-_

With a great crash, the branch broke off the tree and plumetted into the cracks.

Zara!" Alain screamed.

The branch hit the side of the crack, and as it did, Zara jumped off it and grabbed the side. Alain could see her holding on tightly, but the dirt she held on to wasn't solid enough to support her for long. The branch kept falling untill it hit the lava, and Alain saw it sink slowly below the surface with a sickening hiss. His stomach lurched, and he felt ready to throw up.

Above him, Mairin shouted, "Alain you have to help her!"

Alain swiveled to face her, his brain not comprehending what she'd said. As he turned, the tree swayed underneath him precariously. Its foundation was starting to weaken.

"You said you would bring her back here! You said you would keep her safe! So go help her!" Mairin shouted.

"But what about you?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just help Zara!"

"But I said I would keep you safe too!"

"I am safe, at least for now! You have to-"

A scream cut her off, and Alain looked down to see the ground beneath Zara's hands giving way. She screamed so loud it made his blood curdle, and everything seemed to play out in slow motion.

Zara's hands slipped.

She scrambled to get a hand hold, but there were none.

She slid down the side of the crack.

Alain heard someone scream her name, then realized it was him.

"You gave to help Zara!" Mairin screamed.

Then Zara struck the surface of the lava.

Her sceams filled Alain's ears as she sank below the surface.

Then for one sickening moment, silence.

"Zara! Zara! Zara!" Alain screamed over and over. The scene blurred before his eyes from tears, breaking up into patches of color, and then...

He opened his eyes.

Alain gasped out a yell and jerked into a sitting position, prepared to jump into searing lava. But it wasn't there. He was in his room, in his bed, the cover pulled up to his waist. Gordon was bustling around the room, and water was running in the bathroom.

 _It was a dream... It was only a dream..._ he thought. None the less, his heart still pounded in his chest, his hands shook, and his whole body was covered with sweat. Zara's screams still rang in his ears, and he felt like he wanted to die with her just to make them stop. He pinched himself just to be sure none if that had been real.

"You okay?" Gordon asked nonchalantly as he passed by the bed. "You were talking in your sleep."

Alain nodded absentmindedly. He didn't know if he was okay or not. Zara had died in his dream; to say he wasn't affected by that would have been ridiculous.

Then all the thoughts and events from yesterday came rolling back into his mind, and he felt sick. Zara was gone, he had no idea where she was, and he couldn't find her without putting his mission in jeopardy. For all he knew, she might be dead at this very moment.

He clutched his head in his hands and groaned. _Just forget about it, and focus on your mission,_ he thought, then hauled himself out of bed and got ready for the day ahead of him.

He and Gordon left their room at the same time, and walked downstairs together. Neither of them spoke as they went. Alain was too lost in his own thoughts to start a conversation, and Gordon kept to himself.

Breakfast went by quickly and uneventfully. Alain tried to eat, but found everything he tried to swallow made him feel sicker. As he finished what food he could choke down, he noticed Gordon and Brittney off to one side of the cafeteria. They were holding hands under the table. When he saw it, his heart twisted in longing for something he couldn't identify, and his stomach clenched with worry. He put his head down on the table and tried to block the feelings, and calm his stomach.

"Good morning everyone," a feminine voice said from what sounded like the front double doors. Alain didn't lift his head to check, only listened. "Would the trainer's who are still in the competition please follow me to the courtyard."

"Did you find Zara?" someone, who sounded like Wally, asked anxiously.

"Yeah, did you find her?" several other people chimed in.

Alain looked up at the doorway to see Glacia solemnly shaking her head. His heart sank to the floor.

Astrid and Carl both rose from their table across the room and started after Glacia. Alain rose and followed them slowly. He let his feet drag against the tile floor as he walked. Miserable would have been an understatement for how he felt.

 _Zara's gone and I can't do anything to help find her. I have to focus on my mission. I HAVE TO._

 _I can't stop working toward healing Chespie! I can't let Mairin down! I CAN'T._

 _No matter what happens._

Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly.

Glacia led the three trainers our onto the battle field, then stopped and turned to them. "Now I know we technically have two battles to fight today, but we can't possibly fight them both if one of the competitors is missing. So, we have decided to treat Zara's disappearance as a forfeit. That means you, Carl, will not have to fight anyone to get into the finals. It will be the winner of Astrid and Alain's battle against you."

Under any other circumstances, Alain was pretty sure Carl would have celebrated this news, but now he only nodded.

"So, Astrid and Alain, let's get your battleunderway," Glacia said. She stepped to the side of the field. Astrid and Alain both walked to their trainer's boxes and took out their pokeballs.

"Are you both ready?" Glacia asked, raising her arms.

"Yes," both trainers replied.

"Then battle begin!"

"Absol, let's go!" Astrid shouted, and threw her pokeball into the air. Absol burst out with a energetic cry, landing solidly on all fours.

"Charizard, let's go," Alain said as he threw Charizard's pokeball, but the words felt heavy as they left his lips. He wasn't in the mood to battle right now. _But I have to. I have to keep gathering Mega Evolution energy. For Mairin._ Charizard burst out of its own pokeball and roared powerfully, shooting a glare at Absol.

A heavy silence reigned over the battle field for several seconds, as both trainers and Pokemon waited for their opponents to move.

Astrid chose to move first. "Absol, use Dark Pulse!"

Absol reared its head back, charged a Dark Pulse, then fired it straight for Charizard.

"Intercept with Flamethrower," Alain commanded, but his normal passion wasn't in his voice.

Charizard blasted a Flamethrower into Absol's Dark Pulse, quickly overpowering it and damaging the Dark type. However, as soon as it finished the move, it turned to look at Alain, a question on its face.

Alain knew his Pokemon well enough to interpret this look as saying, _What happened to you?_ Even if there were words that could express how he felt, Alain didn't know what they were. So he simply fixed Charizard with a stare that he hoped said it all. The image of Zara falling into the lava surfaced in his mind once again, and he only barely repressed a shudder. _Stay strong. For Mairin._

Something at the back of his mind flickered at that thought, but he didn't have time to think about it.

"Use Mega Horn!" Astrid ordered. Quick as a Thunderbolt, Absol charged Charizard, its scythe glowing an pale yellow-green.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered, and Charizard intercepted the Mega Horn, sending Absol sliding back across the field.

What was it that was tugging at the back of his mind? Something from his dream. Something about Zara and Mairin. Actually, Mairin had said whatever it was, hadn't she?

"Use Shadow Claw, Absol!" Astrid commanded, and Absol again leaped into action. It ran three quarters of the way across the field, then jumped into the air.

"Hit it undrneath with Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted.

Charizard launched itself into the air at Alain's command, and flew up to swipe at Absol's legs. But as it reached out its claw toward Absol, the Dark type twisted around its move, landed on Charizard's head, then leaped skyward. As Charizard came lost its balance and started to falter midair, Absol dove straight for it, slicing it with a Shadow Claw as it passed it.

Alain grit his teeth as the Shadow Claw connected. _Pay attention! That was sloppy, and you can't afford to make any mistakes. You have to win this competition. You have to be the strongest. For Mairin._

Again, something at the back of his mind flickered. Definitely something Mairin had said. When Zara had been in trouble, perhaps? Before or after she'd fallen into the crack?

"I figured you would have Mega Evolved your Charizard by now," Astrid commented, interrupting his thoughts. "If not, we'll go first." And touching her keystone in her earing, she shouted, "Absol, Mega Evolve!" In a blinding flash of rainbow colored light, Absol Mega Evolved.

Not to be left behind, Alain immediately touched his keystone, crying, "Charizard, Mega Evolve!" Charizard roared as the light from both stones enveloped it, and it Mega Evolved.

"Just like last time," Astrid said in admiration.

"Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

"Dodge, Absol, and use Psycho Cut!" Astrid countered.

Absol leaped to the right, clearing the Flamethrower. As soon as it landed, it jumped again and shot a Psycho Cut at Charizard.

Alain saw the Psychic type move speeding toward Charizard, but by the time he shouted, "Dodge it!" it was too late. Charizard took the Psycho Cut in the chest, and slid back from the powerful blow.

 _Pay attention!_ his mind snapped at him. _Nothing should get past you! That was sloppy and you know it! If you keep this up, Chespie is as good as gone. Focus. For Mairin._

Again, the thought tugged at the back of his mind. Mairin saying something about helping Zara.

"Mega Horn!"

"Thunder Punch!"

Charizard and Absol charged each other, meeting in the the middle of the field. They intercepted each other, but Charizard won out, throwing Absol back against the wall of the courtyard. As Absol struck the wall, it let out a caterwaul that sounded so much like a human scream that Alain flinched.

And then Mairin's words came to him, clear as crystal.

 _"You said you would bring her back here! You said you would keep her safe! So go help her!_

 _"But what about you?"_

 _"I'm fine, just help Zara!"_

 _"But I said I would keep you safe too!"_

 _"I am safe, at least for now!..."_

 _She's right,_ he realised. _For now, she and Chespie are both safe. But Zara may not be. So she should take priority. I have to find her. I have to take care of them both. This mission shouldn't completely rule out protecting Zara, and finding Zara shouldn't completely rule out my mission for Mairin. I care about them both. I can't let either of them get hurt. And stopping my mission for a couple of hours while I'm not battling to help Steven find his assistant shouldn't put Mairin or my mission in any danger. And it will help me keep Zara safe._

He knew what he had to do. For the first time in weeks, everything seemed to fall into place.

"Absol, Dark Pulse!" Astrid ordered.

"Fly up, Charizard!" Alain shouted. Charizard took off, but as it did, it glanced back at Alain. Alain gave it a bold stare, and Charizard roared happily. "Use Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.

Charizard's Flamethrower blasted straight through Absol's Dark Pulse, sending the Dark type sprawling across the field.

Astrid started in surprise, then cried, "Absol, can you go on?"

"Sol!" Absol roared as it hauled itself to its feet.

"Alright then, use Psycho Cut!"

"Thunder Punch, let's go!" Alain ordered.

Absol shot it's Psycho Cut at Charizard, but the Flame Pokemon only punched right through it.

"Now Blast Burn!"

"Don't let them attack! Use Dark Pulse!"

Absol quickly launched a Dark Pulse at Charizard, in a desperate attempt to hit the Fire and Dragon type before it could ready it's attack, but it was no use. Just before the Dark type move would have connected with Charizard's wings, Charizard dove to the ground and punched it with a claw, fire burning around it. The ground began to break up, and finally it exploded beneath Absol, sending up a huge dust cloud. The blast sent Absol into the air, high enough to clear the dust, for a few seconds, then it fell back to the ground.

Then everything was still.

Alain watched the field closely, waiting to see Absol leap out of the dust cloud and attack. Passion and determination flowed through his veins, setting him on fire. Now he knew what needed to be done. Nothing could stop him. Nothing.

Not even Mega Absol. The dust cleared to reveal a fainted Disaster Pokemon lying before Astrid, it's legs splayed out at awkward angles. It reverted to its normal form, and Astrid ran to it.

Alain recalled Charizard and walked toward the stairs without a word to anyone. His mind contained only one thought; _Find Zara._

And the best way to do that was to find Steven and read Zara's note.

He raced through the halls and up the stairs, passing lots of students and a couple of adults. Someone called his name, but he turned a deaf ear. This was too important to stop and talk to anyone.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm, yanking him to a standstill. He turned angily to face the person, and came face to face with Lysander.

"Alain, where are you going?" Lysander asked him sternly.

Alain hesitated for a split second, before he answered confidently, "To find Steven, and help him find Zara by reading her note."

Lysander's eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened on Alain's arm. "I ordered you yesterday not to read that note. Are you trying to defy my orders?"

"No sir, but I need to help find her. I have to reason to believe she is is danger, and I can help-"

"Alain, I warned you not to spend too much time around the Champion's assistant. Now you have become attached to her. Forget about her. She is none of your concern, only a threat to our mission."

Alain bristled. "She is not a threat to us! And I have been staying away from her, but that doesn't mean I want her to get hurt!" he nearly shouted. "I need to help find her, if I can! Please!"

"No. And that is final!" Lysander said, raising his own voice. He roughly released Alain's arm and turned away from him, the discussion over in his mind.

Then Alain mumbled a question. A simple, one word question. A question that he had never asked Lysander before. Ever.

"Why?"

It was one of the simplest questions Alain could have asked. Yet, as soon as it left his lips, Lysander went stock still. The tall redhead didn't move for some time, and he didn't answer.

Alain stood on the step the whole time, staring at Lysander's back. Confusion and pleading filled his eyes. Confusion at Lysander's silence, and pleading for permission to help Zara. But the silence dragged on.

"Sir, why can't I try to find Zara? Why do you want me to stay away from her?" he asked fiercely, but not defiantly.

"Because she is threat, just like Steven Stone," Lysander said slowly.

"I don't believe that. Why else?"

Silence. Dead, cold silence. Lysander finally opened his mouth to say something else, but Alain didn't want to hear it. No reason should take this long to give. It never took him this long to respond to Lysander. He heard words being spoken, but he ignored them. Lysander's back was still turned to him, thus he chose to slip away from his boss.

 _This doesn't make any sense. Why would Lysander tell me to do something and not have a reason? What reason does he have for not wanting me to be around Zara? Or to try and find her? Why does he still think she's a threat? She can't be. She wants nothing to do with me anymore, so I wouldn't be around her if she was here. I just need to be sure she's safe, then I can stay away from her as long as anyone likes. Why can't Lysander understand that?_

 _One problem at a time. Find Zara, then you can figure all of this out._

He topped the staircase and plodded down the hall toward Steven's room. Hopefully the Champion would be there and have Zara's note with him. He walked past several students, focused on his goal of finding Zara, but everything else in his head was a whirlpool. One that he would be swept away by if he ventured into it, he knew.

He reached Steven's door and knocked. After a minute, the Champion opened the door and spotting him, said, "Hello, Alain. Can I help you?"

Alain looked him over from top to bottom. Somehow he looked even more bedraggled than he had yesterday. "I need to see Zara's note," he replied, getting straight to the point.

Steven gave him a puzzled glance, but turned to his desk and pulled the sticky note from between the pages of a paperback. "Here," he said holding it out. When Alain took it, he added, "Didn't you already read it yesterday?"

"No," was all Alain offered as a response. Then he turned his attention to the note in his hand. It read:

 **Dear Champion Steven,**

 **When you see this, you'll know that I've left the school. Please believe me when I say...write that I didn't want to leave. I had too. I suppose I owe you an explanation, but for the sake of my own safety and yours, I can't tell you everything. So here's the best I can do. Something has been chasing me ever since my parents left, and it's caught up to me more than I can risk. But it's not what I thought was after me all along; thus it's caught me by surprise. Know that I'm going to the safest place I know of. And that I won't be coming back. I'm sorry, but it has to be this way. Please don't try to find me. I don't want to be found, by anyone. Thank you for the time you spent training me, and everything else. Please tell Wally goodbye for me, and tell him not to worry.**

 **Zara**

Alain read the note twice more before handing it back to Steven.

"So," Steven asked hopefully, "does it tell you anything?"

Alain didn't answer; he was too deep in thought. The note said she was running from something, something that had been chasing her ever since her parents were killed, and it had caught up to her. That made it sound like she was running from Team Magma. But the next sentence said that what was chasing her wasn't what she thought had been after her all along. And that made it sound like she wasn't running from Team Magma, but something else, possibly something, or someone, who had disguised themselves as the red-clad Team. The note was a bit confusing, but Alain was fairly confident that Zara meant she wasn't running from Team Magma anymore. Why else would she put that line about being caught by surprise?

But if it wasn't Team Magma she was running from, then who? If it wasn't Team Magma that had attacked and killed her parents, then who had done it? And if they had caught up to Zara so closely, where were they now?

And was Zara safe from them or not?

The note only stirred up more questions, but what he needed was answers.

 _Okay, think. If it isn't Team Magma that's after her, who could it be? She said they caught up to her more than she could risk. So this person found her here at the school. And they tried to attack her in the training room. So someone that either was smart enough to get past the security systems, or...someone who was already inside the school._

That thought was enough to make his hair stand on end. _There must be a Raticate in the school. But, who? Who here would want to hurt Zara? Who here could have killed her parents almost eight years ago? Surely not Steven. No it can't be, she wouldn't have left him a note if she was running from him. One of the Eilte Four? No, she's been around them for years. She would have run away years ago if it was one of them. Another student? No, no, it can't be, none of them are old enough. Champion Cynthia? No, she was long gone when Zara was attacked._

 _Wait. All that leaves is...Lysander, Bryony, and Celosia._

 _That can't be right. None of them would kill anyone. None of them would hurt an innocent girl..would they?_

But Lysander didn't think of her as innocent; he saw her as a threat. Bryony and Celosia, he wasn't sure what they thought, but they would do whatever Lysander told them.

 _No, it can't be! Lysander is helping me protect Professor Sycamore, and heal Chespie! He wants to create peace in the world! He wants to help people! He would never kill anyone!_

 _Then why wouldn't he let you read the note?_ his mind asked him. _Why wouldn't he let you try to find Zara, when she might be in danger?_

 _He must have had a reason..._

 _Then why wouldn't he tell you what the reason was?_

 _I have no proof that it was Lysander or Bryony or-!_

And then he remembered Zara's description of the person who she'd seen outside her house just before it exploded. Someone dressed obviously in woman's clothing, wearing red, with short purple hair, and glasses.

 _Courtney doesn't wear glasses...but from a distance, Celosia's goggles would look just like glasses._

 _No, it can't be..._

 _But if Celosia was behind that attack, that would explain who attacked Zara from inside the school. And why Lysander doesn't want me to read this note. And why Zara was nervous telling her story to Lysander the first day Celosia got here. And why she claimed they were here on a mission to kidnap her_ _._

 _And why she thought I was lying to her._

It all made sense, yet he couldn't bring himself to accept it. He couldn't believe, he just couldn't believe that Lysander had been lying to him this whole time. There had to be another explanation. He had to find Lysander and get him to explain this. Surely there was a reasonable explanation.

Without another word to Steven, Alain set out blindly down the hall in search of Lysander. He checked his boss's room, Celosia and Bryony's room, the training rooms, the courtyard, the cafeteria, anywhere he could think of, but there was no sign of him.

He rounded the courner to the staircase, intent on checking Lysander's room again, when he ran smack into Carl. "Hey, slow down!" The dark haired teen said. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?"

"Looking for Lysander," Alain answered, not slowing down at all.

He had cleared the first five steps when Carl called after him, "The tall guy with the red hair?"

Alain stopped in his tracks and turned back to Carl. "Yes."

"I saw him about half an hour ago. He was headed onto the second floor."

Nodding his thanks, Alain continued up the stairs to the second floor. _Why is he on this floor? I suppose Celosia and Bryony and doing their research up here, and he's checking on them._ The memory of Zara clawing at a plie of plaster came back to him, and he had to force back the idea that Zara had been trying to expose a plot to kidnap her. That couldn't be true.

He cleared the last step, then looked around him. Carl had only said he'd seen Lysander headed onto the second floor; he hadn't said anything about seeing him go in any of the rooms. Which meant he could be in any of them.

Anyone else with any less of a purpose might have given up about now, but Alain only stepped up to the first door and flung it open. Nothing inside but empty paint cans. He opened the second door. Broken glass. He opened all the doors on this side of the building, but they all held similar items. None of them had Lysander. None of them even offered a clue as to where he could be.

Alain kept going, opening ever door on the level, and leaving them open after he checked them. He went half way around the building, flinging doors open, but finding nothing, untill he reached the middle of the far side of the building from where he started. He stopped under the symbol of a keystone and Mega stone that adorned the wall, wiping his forehead and sagging against the wall.

 _Where is he? Did he leave already and I missed him? There must be something here to tell me where he-_

He broke off when his eyes landed on the door across the hall from him. Not so much the door, as the knob. It looked just the same as all the other knobs, save that it had a thin red smudge on it.

Crossing the hall in two long steps, he reached for the knob. _Lysander must be in here._

 _Now I can get some answers._

 _With that thought, he turned the knob and threw open the door._

X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Zara jerked her head up for the fourth time that morning. Or was it afternoon? Due to the room she was held in having no windows, she didn't have the faintest idea.

Last night had been miserable. She hadn't slept much, what with Bryony's clicking and clanging with her gadgets all night, and her stomach both growling with hunger and churning with anxiety. Not to mention Celosia's constant demanding to know where the mineral deposit was, helped along by her Drapion poking Zara with its tail. What little sleep she had gotten had been troubled, and usually resulted in her waking up within an hour from a nightmare.

Within the last hour, or she guessed it had been an hour, Lysander had joined Celosia and Bryony inside the soundproof shield. Zara wasn't entirely sure why he'd come. While she understood his haste in trying to get this refining process finished as soon as possible and not get caught, he'd done absolutely nothing to help either scientist the whole time he'd been here.

That didn't seen to deter either of the women from their work. They'd both doubled their efforts since Lysander had arrived. Meaning Bryony's hands flew across the table, and Celosia had started shouting louder than ever.

"Where is it, you miserable girl? Speak up!" Celosia yelled in her face for at least the twentieth time. Zara had finally given up telling her she didn't know and kept silent. Frustration, worry and exhaustion had taken their toll on her, and all morning the only thing that had truly kept her alert was the shouting and her own nerves. Just ten minutes of peace, and maybe she would feel better. But that wasn't going to happen.

"Answer me!" Celosia shouted again. Zara just stared at her with empty eyes. She was long past hoping anyone would find her and rescue her. In her mind, she was going back to Kalos with these people when they finished their experiments, and she'd be stuck there for a long time. There was a glimmer of hope that possibly she would be able to escape from the base they had in the Kalos region, but from how well protected they were here in the school, Zara doubted she'd have a chance back on their home turf. Besides, even if she could escape, she didn't know the Kalos region well enough to hide there for long.

Tears slipped down her cheeks unbidden. Zara couldn't have stopped them if she tried. All her cheerfulness was long past destroyed.

"Sir, the refining process is complete," Bryony interjected from behind her worktable. "Give the crystalized mineral ten minutes to air dry from the binding solution, and it will be ready to use."

"Good," Lysander answered. Begin cleaning up your equipment, Bryony. We will leave within an hour. That means with or without the location." And his gaze lingered coldly on Zara for a moment, then on Celosia.

Celosia's glare at Zara intensified, if that was even possible. She growled angrily, then slapped Zara across the face. Hard. So hard, that if Zara could have seen where Celosia's hand had connected, she would have seen the skin there had aquired an angry red color. More tears rolled down her cheeks, and a sob escaped her.

Celosia turned away from Zara, anger seething from her whole body, and turned to Lysander. "It's no use, she won't speak. I've tried everything I can think of to get her to talk and she still won't say anything."

"Then perhaps you should try something else," Lysander said slowly. He cut his eyes across the room at Bryony's table. Celosia followed his gaze, then smiled wickedly. She stepped lightly over to the table and making sure Zara could see what she was doing, lifted the belt that held all six of Zara's Pokemon. Celosia slowly plucked one of the pokeballs off the belt and pressed the button on the front. In a flash, Sceptile appeared. It took one good look around the room, started to growl angrily when it saw Zara, and then Drapion tackled it, pinning it to the floor.

Sceptile cried out in pain, and Zara felt tears stinging her eyes again. "Let it go!" she shouted at Celosia. "It hasn't done anything wrong!"

Celosia only smiled and said sweetly, "I'll let it go when you tell me where the deposit is."

"I already told you, I don't know."

Celosia snapped her fingers, and Drapion released a Sludge Bomb at Sceptile's back. It struck Sceptile, and the Grass type roared in pain from the super-effective damage.

"Stop, you're hurting it!" Zara cried, even though she knew Celosia wouldn't listen.

"You can make it stop. It's very simple."

 _No I can't, I can't! Someone, anyone, please help!_ Zara screamed silently.

Celosia snapped her fingers again, and Drapion raised its arms in a Cross Poison attack. Zara screwed her eyes shut; she couldn't watch. She braced herself for Sceptile's scream.

But it never came. Silence for a full minute, then two, then three. Finally, Zara cracked her eyes open to see what had happened.

The door hung open, and standing in the doorway, stood Alain.

Zara slumped in her chair. While his appearence had helped spare Sceptile more damage, when she had pleaded for anyone to come help her she hadn't meant him. He wouldn't help. He knew all about this mission. He had helped complete it, for crying out loud!

Wait, then why did he look so puzzled? And why had all three of the Team members already in the room stopped and turned to stare at him? Hadn't they called him here? Wasn't he helping them?

Alain's eyes swept the room slowly, like his mind was in a fog. His gaze came to rest on Zara, and when he looked at her, she saw confusion and rejection on his face and in his eyes. He stared at her for several seconds before sinking to his knees, head bowed, hands gripping the door frame so hard his knuckles turned white. When he lifted his head up a full minute later, these emotions quickly gave way to something stronger. Rage washed over his face and he started yelling something Zara couldn't hear through the soundproof shield.

 _What is going on?_ Zara thought, confused. But deep within her, hope rekindled.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Alain stood in the doorway of the room, staring at Lysander, then Celosia, then Bryony, then Sceptile and Drapion, and finally letting his gaze land on Zara. She was tied up in a chair, exhausted looking, with what looked to be a couple of minor injuries. But that wasn't what caught his attention the most. It was her expression, her posture, her demeanor. She looked...he wasn't even sure how to describe it. All the other times he'd ever seen her she been happy. Sure there'd been the few times she'd spoken about her past where she'd cried, but that had never lasted long, always giving way to Zara's sunshine filled side. But this was something else. Zara looked like someone had taken every scrap of happiness she'd ever had in her and destroyed it. She looked defeated. Hopeless. Miserable.

How could this happen? How could anyone let this happen?

And yet, Lysander was here, watching Celosia and Bryony hurt her. And doing nothing about it.

There was no denying it now. Lysander undoubtedly ordered the attack on Zara, ordered her kidnapped, and was having her tortured. That was why he'd told Alain not read the note, and why he'd ordered him not to look for Zara. And why he had no reason for refusing to allow it. He didn't want Zara to be found. Because he had taken her. She had never been a threat in the first place.

Lysander had lied to him.

And if he had lied to him about this...what was to keep him from lying about Mairin and Chespie too? And Professor Sycamore? And their mission?

Their mission. To protect the people he loved. And yet in helping Lysander, he'd hurt Zara. Who else had Lysander hurt with their mission? What was he really planning to do?

Zara's voice played back in his head, _"But what are these peaceful purposes? What specifically are you planning to do?"_

If only he had asked.

Mairin's voice rang in his head from his dream, _"I am safe..."_

He had no idea if that was true anymore. He had no idea if anything was true anymore. Lysander had lied to him. His whole purpose was falling apart before his eyes.

But why Zara? Zara had told him the people who'd blown up her house had bought a green mineral off her parents. So if these people were led by Celosia, then that was her mission to retrieve any of the mieneral anyway she could. But how had she known Zara was related to-?

It hit him like a wrecking ball. He'd told Lysander about her past. Thus Lysander must have told Celosia, and ordered her to capture Zara, breaking his promise to keep Zara's secret. It was _his fault_ that she was in this mess, because he'd trusted Lysander, and Lysander had lied to him again.

Alain's knees suddenly gave our underneath him, and he sank to the floor, clutching the doorframe for support. _What have I done!? What have I been fighting for if everything I've been told is a lie?!_

Then he looked up Zara. A sense on pure and unchecked rage washed over him at the pain she'd been put through. _I may have caused this, but I can fix it too. And I will. I swore I would protect her._

"What are you doing!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "Let her go! Now!" The order was directed at Celosia.

All three people only continued to stare at him.

"Let her go!" he shouted again. Celosia glanced a Lysander this time, and her boss gave a slight nod. Celosia recalled Sceptile, then stepped up to Zara and tied a gag around her mouth. Alain winced as he saw her grimace in pain. Celosia finished tying the gag, then stepped up to Bryony's table, touched something he couldn't see, then motioned for him to come closer. He took a single step forward, before repeating his command. "Let her go!"

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Alain," Lysander said evenly.

"Why not? Why are you hurting her? Why did you kidnap her?" Alain demanded.

"She knows some information that we need to finish our mission. But she refuses to tell us. Thus we've kept her here, trying to elicit what we need from her."

"You never thought she was a threat, did you?"

"I was only attempting to protect you from what was to come. You were growing soft, Alain, toward her. This had to be done, and I didn't want you having to bear it."

"Ey!" Zara exclaimed through her gag. Alain had no idea what she'd said, but when he looked back at her, she looked more alive. In fact, she looked livid, struggling against her bonds, her eyes burning brightly with energy.

Alain faced Lysander again. "You lied to me."

"With good intentions."

"That doesn't make it right!"

Lysander stared at Alain silently for a long time. "I'm afraid, Alain, that you have outlived your purpose."

Alain's stare faltered momentarily.

"Thus it is time for me to eliminate you." Lysander drew a pokeball from his pocket and let it expand in his hand. "Gyarados, go!"

Alain jumped back in alarm as the huge, red, Water and Flying type materialized in the room.

"Use Incinerate!" Lysander ordered.

 _If that's how you want it._ "Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted. The Fire and Flying type burst into the room and roared furiously at Gyarados. "Use Flamethrower!"

Both Fire type moves collided and exploded. Celosia ducked, and Bryony screamed something about her research being ruined before flinging herself in front of the table.

"Gyarados, Mega Evolve!" Lysander ordered. He touched his keystone in his ring, and in a blinding flash of light Gyarados Mega Evolved. The Atrocious Pokemon quickly grew to fill half of the room.

Alain lifted his Mega Ring up to his face and touched the keystone. "Keystone respond to my heart! Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" His keystone reacted with Charizard's Mega Stone, and Charizard Mega Evolved. "Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

"Stone Edge!" Lysander commanded.

Gyarados shot the glowing blue stones through the floor, but Charizard only smashed though them. It approached Gyarados, but as it got within swiping distance, Gyarados, swung its tail around in a Dragon Tail attack. It intercepted Charizard's Dragon Claw and forced it back.

"Bryony," Lysander said coolly, "give me the mineral."

Bryony stiffened indignantly, but reluctantly reached for a chunk of green rock on her table and tossed it to Lysander. Zara sat up straighter as the rock flew past her, and she and Alain both watched it closely as it went by them. _What is he going to do with that?_ Alain wondered.

Lysander caught the rock and fingered it for a moment, studying it closely. "Alain, do you remember what I said our research here was on?" he asked.

Alain opened his mouth to snap why that mattered, but then his conversation with Lysander came back to him. The one they'd been having just before they'd seen Zara and Steven arguing with Celosia and Bryony. Where Lysander had told him that he might be interested in knowing they were researching a new way to make Pokemon even stronger.

His heart sank, for only a second, before rising, determined to face this new challenge. It must have showed on his face, because Lysander smiled an emotionless smile and said, "You do remember." Then with one fluid motion, he tossed the rock at Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon tired to its trainer and caught the stone in its mouth, crunching down on in as thought it was a piece of rock candy. Its effect was imediate. Gyarados became surrounded by a pale green aura, and it seemed to grow in size. The Water and Dark type gave a ground-shaking roar, and lashed its tail powerfully. Due to its size, it threw every piece of furniture in the room into the walls with its tail. Celosia and Bryony managed to avoid the tail, but Zara, being tied to a chair, was thrown against the back wall so hard the heavy chair she was tied to splintered and broke.

Alain saw her go flying, but there was no time to do anything to help her. The chair hit the wall, broke, then Zara's back connected with the wall. He saw her wince when she hit the wall, then she and the pieces of the chair fell to the floor. For a moment, Alain thought she'd been knocked out, but Zara soon lifted her head slowly, only to duck down again as a beaker from Bryony's table flew over her head.

 _She's alive._ Alain let out a sigh of relief, then turned back to Lysander and Gyarados. _I will defeat them. For Zara. For Mairin. For the Professor._

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"Gyarados, Dragon Tail!"

Charizard fired its Flamethrower at Gyarados, and Gyarados slammed its tail down on the Fire type move. But instead of struggling against it, the Dragon Tail cut through the flames like they were nothing. Gyarados struck Charizard's head and drove it into the floor, letting off a roar of triumph.

 _It has gotten a stronger. But I won't let it stop me,_ Alain thought.

"Gyarados, Stone Edge!" Lysander commanded

"Fly up, Charizard," Alain ordered.

Blue stones shot out of the floor near Gyarados and spread toward Charizard, but the Flame Pokemon avoided them easily enough.

"Drapion, Cross Poison!"

Alain whirled to face Celosia just in time to see her Drapion launching a Cross Poison straight at Charizard. _No, I can't fight both of them at the same time! Gyardos is enough of a challenge on its own!_

None the less, he had to stop that attack. "Intercept with Thunder Punch!"

Charizard's Claw crackled with electricity, and it punched through the Cross Poison with ease, creating a cloud of smoke where the attacks met. But as the smoke began to spread around Charizard, Gyarados leaped up at it and struck it's side with a Dragon Tail. The powerful move drove Charizard into the back wall, leaving large cracks in the plaster where it connected.

"Charizard!" Alain cried anxiously, as Charizard hauled itself out of the indent it had made.

 _I can't give up. I will take Lysander down._

 _But how?_

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara lifted her head cautiously after she landed on the pieces of her chair, then immediately ducked as a beaker flew over her head. _Blast research of every kind._ She watched the beaker smash against the wall before attempting to rise again. She struggled to her feet, wriggling out of all the ropes she'd been tied down with, and yanking off the gag over her head, but when she tried to put weight on her left foot, it gave out underneath her, and she dropped to one knee. Hissing out between her teeth in pain, she felt her ankle. It didn't feel broken, but she couldn't tell what was wrong with it, other than it hurt like fire when she tried to walk on it.

 _Must have injured it when I crashed against the wall. Well, nothing I can do about it now._

Celosia and Bryony both were busy dodging attacks from Gyarados, and weren't watching her. Zara dropped to her hands and knees and began to crawl across the floor. When Gyarados had knocked Bryony's table, it had sent it flying into the back wall. Thus, Zara had to get over to the table's wreckage. She knew Celosia had left her pokeballs on there.

Gyarados slammed Charizard with a Dragon Tail, and Zara covered her ears when it roared. She still had no idea why Alain had come in here and started fighting with Lysander. He'd said something about Lysander had lied to him, but that didn't explain a whole lot. All she knew was that he'd created the perfect distraction for her to try and escape. If only she could find her Pokemon.

She reached the table, or what was left of it, and began to sift through the wreckage for and pokeball she could find. She found first one then two, then the belt that the rest of them had been on. All except for Sceptile's. The one Celosia had been holding.

Looking up and glancing around the room, she spotted it almost immediately. It was lying on the floor, directly behind Celosia. Zara crept forward on her hands and knees, inching along so as not to alert Celosia to her presence. But Celosia was too busy watching Alain and Lysander's battle to pay any attention to her. Zara scooped up Sceptile's pokeball and struggled to her feet. Much as it hurt, she knew she needed to stand to be able to run away.

Only one problem left. She had to get to the door to get away. And at the moment, it was blocked by two fiercely battling Mega Evolved Pokemon.

 _Now what do I do? There aren't any windows in here to climb through. But there's no way in the world I can get past those to Pokemon without getting hurt, especially since I can barely walk. I need a plan, but-_

Her thoughts were interrupted as Charizard flew past her, slamming into the wall and creating a huge indent. She dove back toward the table wreckage, covering her head with her arms. After a moment, she rose again, and watched Charizard pull itself out of the wall and turn back to Gyarados.

And as Charizard freed itself, Zara watched in amazement as shards of glass fell from its wings and beams of sunlight poured in. Not many, but enough to be noticed.

 _So there was a window in here after all! They just boarded it up!_ Scrambling to her feet as best she could, she limped over to the hole and peered out. Just as she had hoped, a small portion of the battle field as visible through the crack. _Now I have by way out._

Keeping an eye on Celosia and Bryony, and taking pains to be quiet, she released Sceptile. The Grass type nuzzled her head fondly, before turning to face Celosia. Zara hurried to shush it, then showed it the hole in the wall and whispered a request for Sceptile to make it bigger. Sceptile gave her a quick nod and set to work, ripping chunks of plaster and glass out of the way with its mouth and claws.

As Sceptile worked, Zara watched Celosia to make sure she wasn't paying them any attention. She wasn't, but she was attacking Alain with her Drapion. Zara's attention drifted to the battle, and she was horrified to see Alain and Charizard loosing to Lysander. Badly. Against a Pokemon that had Mega Evolved and been powered up by whatever means that green mineral powered it up, and another Pokemon from a different side, that didn't really surprise Zara. But to see Lysander winning again angered her.

 _You need to leave while you still can, her mind told her, but she remained rooted to the spot, watching Alain._ A Stone Edge ripped through the floor and struck Charizard's right wing, sending it crashing to the floor. Alain flinched as his Pokemon landed, and in the crash, Zara saw a shard of loose rock fly through the air and slice across Alain's arm just above his Mega Ring. He barely gave any reaction to it, but blood oozed out of the wound none the less.

Something deep inside Zara's heart tugged at her, and she struggled with it.

 _You need to go. Leave him to take care of himself, after all, he wants nothing to do with you. He wouldn't want your help. He doesn't deserve it._

 _But he came in here and let me escape!_

 _He came in here because he was mad at Lysander, not because he wanted to help you. You owe him nothing._

 _But don't I? Didn't he pull Wally out of the pool and save him from drounding when I couldn't? Didn't he save my life from that Rock Slide that Courtney attacked me with? I owe him everything._

 _But he also broke his word and told Lysander about your secret. He lied to you. You can let him deal with his own problems_

 _But he stuck with you too. He was your friend. He made you happy._

 _He was only your friend so he could use you._

 _Wait, that can't be all true. He at least talked to you and treated you kindly. And he rescued Wally. And that was before he even knew what your secret was. What Team member would do that? W_ _ell, saving me perhaps I could see, but Wally? That wouldn't gain him anything. He did it to help Wally. No Team member helps others without expecting to get something out of it._

 _But he lied to you..._

Another roar of pain split the air in the room, as Charizard took a Sludge Bomb to the back.

Zara took a long look at Alain. Maybe he had lied to her. Maybe he did deserve to lose this impossible fight. But he had treated her like a friend, up untill the end. He had made her happy. He'd made her feel safe.

Another Stone Edge attack ripped through the floor and slammed into Charizard from below. As Charizard fell, a piece of rock glanced off its wing and grazed Alain's shoulder. Alain fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder.

And suddenly Zara realised what she'd been struggling with. She still had feelings for him. Even after all this, she still cared about him, still wanted to be with him, still- still-

Still loved him.

Sceptile nudged her shoulder and she turned to it. The Forest Pokemon had finished clearing a hole in the wall big enough for it to climb through.

Zara looked at the hole, then at Alain, then back at the hole. And she made a choice.

 _I have a favor to return._

"Hey Drapion!" she shouted, waving her hands above her head. "Hey!"

Celosia and Drapion turned to face her and Sceptile.

"Come and get me!" And she stuck our her tongue and pulled one eyelid down in a taunting gesture.

Drapion roared furously, and Celosia shouted, "Use Cross Poison!"

Zara waited untill Drapion fired the move, then grabbed onto the leather collar that held Sceptile's Mega Stone. In one fluid movement, Sceptile dodged the Cross Poison, taking Zara with it.

"Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

"Sludge Bomb!" Celosia countered.

Sceptile charged a Dragon Pulse and launched it at Drapion. Drapion intercepted with a Sludge Bomb, and the two attacks canceled out.

In the brief moment after the attacks exploded, Zara glanced over at Alain and Lysander. Now that they didn't have to worry about Drapion, Alain and Charizard were starting to hold their ground against Gyarados. But they wouldn't be able to hold out forever. Zara was turning back to Drapion, when Charizard swooped in-between her and Gyarados to dodge a Dragon Tail. And suddenly, Zara had an idea.

"Back up Sceptile," she whispered. Sceptile cocked its head at her, but did as it was told. Letting go of its collar, Zara stepped behind her Pokemon.

"Hey Drapion, come and get us, " Zara taunted again. Drapion growled at her, and Sceptile growled back.

"Drapion, Cross Poison!" Celosia commanded.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile and Drapion charged each other.

"Hyper Beam," Zara heard Lysander order.

"Dodge it!" she heard Alain shout.

"Hit the floor, Sceptile!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile continued to charge Drapion, but it kept getting lower and lower to the floor. It swiped at Drapion's legs, forcing the Poison and Dark type to jump to dodge. Drapion jumped and raised it's arms, prepared to attack Sceptile full on.

"Drapion, look out!" Celosia shouted suddenly.

A bright light fell on Drapion, and the Ogre Scorp Pokemon turned it's head to look at the light, just in time to see Gyarados's Hyper Beam attack bearing down on it. With a cry of terror, Drapion took the Hyper Beam full on, and the attack sent it through the hole Sceptile had made in the wall, and into the courtyard below.

Celosia gaped at Zara for a second before running to look out the hole at her Pokemon. Zara only smiled as Sceptile picked itself off the floor underneath where Drapion had been hit and shook some dust off of itself in a final sort of way. Across the room, Charizard dove from where it had plastered itself against the ceiling to avoid the Hyper Beam at Gyarados, its claws glowing in a Dragon Claw attack.

"Good job, Sceptile," Zara praised. "Now, are you ready to face the real battle?"

"Sceptile!"

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Steven marched down the courtyard toward the front entrance of the school. He was one his way to greet a visitor, a very special visitor he'd intended to have come eariler in the week, but this person's plans had changed, and the visit had been put off untill now.

Nearby, a loud crash sounded. _Someone's being very loud with their training today,_ Steven thought. _I'll have to tell them to try and keep it down later._

He reached the double doors just as Professor Sycamore walked through them. "Welcome Professor!" Steven greeted warmly.

"Hello Champion," Professor Sycamore replied equally warmly. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier in the week. An emergency came up."

"It's quite alright. If you don't mind me asking, what kept you?"

"This." And the Professor stepped aside to reveal Mairin standing behind him, cluching her Chespin to her chest. "I figured out what was making Chespie sick. The emergency was trying to get it out of Lysander Labs and back to my lab to cure it."

"And what was making it sick?"

"Energy from a new kind of Pokemon. I still don't know what kind of Pokemon it is, or how Chespie came into contact with it, or why the scientists at Lysander Labs couldn't cure it, but I suppose that is a project for another day. I hope you don't mind that I brought Mairin along with me."

"Not at all." And bending down, Steven adressed Mairin, "Hello, Mairin. It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Steven," Mairin replied.

"So, what do you think of the Mega Evolution School?" Steven asked her.

"It's huge! Did you build it all by yourself?"

Steven chuckled. "No, but I helped. But you haven't seen the best part yet."

"What's that?" Mairin asked, wide-eyed.

"It's-" Steven was cut off as another loud rumble shook the building above them and to their right.

"What was that?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"I believe it's some of the students getting a bit too wild with their training," Steven answered, not completely able to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Come with me, and I'll show you the best part of the school, then I'll go take care of that."

Steven led the Professor and Mairin out to the courtyard. "Wow, look at this place Chespie!" Mairin exclamied as soon as she saw the huge field, and the towering walls surrounding it. Steven watched her spin slow circles, starring at everything around her as they walked.

Another rumble shook the building, followed by a shout. Steven sighed to himself. Turning to the Professor, he said, "If you'll excuse me," then turned back the way they'd come. He was just leaving the courtyard when Mairin shouted, "Steven, look out!"

Whirling around, Steven watched as a Drapion flew throught the air, then crashed to the ground, and tumbled to a stop at his feet. One look at the Pokemon told him it was knocked out. _Okay, these kids have gone too far with their training,_ Steven thought. He searched the walls for the place where the Drapion had come from, but was surprised to find the hole was on the second story, not the first. _Didn't I tell all the students not to go up there?_

He suddenly spotted movement throught the hole and squinted at it, trying to see who was to blame for all the noise and destruction. It was one of the people who worked for Lysander and had come to help with his research. But it was what he saw behind her that shocked him.

It was Zara and her Sceptile.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

"Charizard, Thunder Punch!" Alain cried.

"Gyarados, Dragon Tail!" Lysander ordered.

Charizard pulled itself off the ceiling and it met Gyarados in the middle of the room, intercepted it's Dragon Tail, but again Gyarados's superior strength sent Charizard spralling. Alain wasn't sure how much longer they could keep this up. But he wasn't about to quit. He would never quit.

"Stone Edge!" Lysander commanded.

"Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

Charizard let loose with a torrent of flames to intercept the sharp blue stones Gyarados shot at it, but it was no use. As hard as Charizard pushed against the Rock type move, it kept advancing. "Dodge it, Charizard!" Alain shouted, but he already knew it was too late to dodge. The Stone Edge connected, throwing Charizard into the air.

"Use Dragon Tail," Lysander ordered.

"Charizard!" Alain shouted, but it was no use. Charizard didn't have a chance to dodge, or even to intercept. Alain could only watch helplessly as the Dragon Tail got closer and closer to his Pokemon.

And then, out of the blue, came a cry of, "Sceptile, use Detect!"

Alain watched as Sceptile jumped up to Charizard, grabbed onto it, and smoothly dodged the Dragon Tail, pulling Charizard with it to safety on the other side of the room. Whipping his head around to follow them, he saw Zara standing against the other wall. She took a couple of steps closer, and he noticed she was limping badly. Fresh anger flooded through him.

Sceptile let go of Charizard and turned back to Gyarados, growling at it fiercly. Zara too, stared at Lysander with anger in her eyes.

Lysander retured the stare, but his was emotionless rather than furious. "Use Incinerate," he commanded calmly.

Gyarados shot a ball of fire at Sceptile.

"Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara shouted, touching her keystone. It reacted with Sceptile's Mega Stone, and Sceptile Mega Evolved. "Now Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse to intercept Gyarados's Incinerate, but it couldn't stop it alone and struggled to keep it back.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

Charizard blasted a Flamethrower at the Incinerate, and together with Sceptile's Dragon Pulse, it drove back Gyaraods's move. The three attacks exploded, filling the room with smoke and dust.

Alain coughed violently as the smoke enveloped him. For a couple of minutes he couldn't see anything, but he heard a loud crash, and suddenly the room got much brighter. When the smoke finally cleared, he saw that the back wall of the room had been smashed out, letting sunlight pour in, hence the brightness. The cause of the smashed wall became evident moments later. Lysander and Gyarados were gone. They must have escaped out the hole in the confusion.

Zara had clearly come to the same conclusion, because she had already mounted Sceptile and the Forest Pokemon was climbing down the wall to the courtyard.

Running up to Charizard and climbing onto his Pokemon's back, Alain shouted, "After them!"

Charizard needed no further promting. It launched itself into the air and out the hole.

Lysander hadn't gotten far. He and his Pokemon were in the courtyard being confronted by a confused looking Steven. "What is going on?" the Champion asked him, "And why was Zara up there? We all thought she left!"

Lysander only said, "You don't understand how stubborn your assistant is, Champion."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Lysander opened his mouth to say more, but was cut off by Zara. "Leaf Blade!" she ordered, jumping off Sceptile as the Forest Pokemon approached Gyarados, her bad foot giving out underneath her when she landed.

"Stone Edge!" Lysander ordered.

Gyarados shot sharp blue stones out of the ground at Sceptile, and Sceptile was forced to dance around to dodge them, untouched, but unable to close.

Alain saw his chance. "Thunder Punch, Charizard!" he ordered. As Charizard swooped down to attack, Alain leaped from its back and landed not far from Zara. Gyarados didn't have time to counter the attack, and Charizard brought its crackling claw down squarely on its head. Gyarados roared in pain.

Charizard and Sceptile came to stand in front of their trainers, and glared at Gyarados.

"Use Incinerate!" Lysander commanded.

"Flamethrower!" Alain shouted.

"Dragon Pulse!" Zara cried.

Just like last time, all three moves met and exploded. Both Charizard and Sceptile together were evenly matched with the powerful Water type.

"Zara!" someone shouted, and Alain saw Wally charging onto the field.

"Alain!" someone else shouted, and looking around suddenly, he saw Mairin off to one side of the courtyard, next to Steven. _What is she doing here?_

No time to figure that one out. "Hyper Beam!" Lysander shouted.

They'd never be able to block that move with just a Flamethrower and a Dragon Pulse. It was all or nothing. "Use Blast Burn!" Alain commanded.

Zara hesitated only a second before ordering, "Frenzy Plant, Sceptile!"

Charizard and Sceptile both launched their attacks at Gyarados just as Gyarados blasted its Hyper Beam at them. At first the Hyper Beam began to edge back the Blast Burn and Frenzy Plant, but then something amazing happened. As the Blast Burn began to open up the ground more to shoot up its explosion, the roots the Frenzy Plant began to run out of normal ground to grow from. But Sceptile didn't let up. Thus its roots began to grow through the fire, causing them to ingite, and suddenly Gyarados was fighting a perfectly combined move. Its Hyper Beam couldn't hold up against it, and the flaming, exploding roots came crashing down on it from above, and fire exploded underneath it.

When the smoke cleared, Gyarados had fainted. Lysander returned it to its pokeball, looking far from pleased.

Both Charizard and Sceptile released their Mega Evolutions, since the battle was over. But Alain was far from finished. He opened his mouth to yell at Lysander and tell him just how terrible he really was, but the sound of helicopter blades whirring in the distance stopped him.

Lysander smiled. "Just in time."

Alain looked up to see a helicopter, the same helicopter that had brought him here, lowering itself into the courtyard. The wind it created sent everything beneath it flying in all directions, and the other students ran for the building or whatever cover they could find. Sceptile gripped the ground to avoid being blown away, and Zara had fallen flat on her back. As soon as it got close, the pilot dropped a rope, and Lysander grabbed it. The rope quickly retracted, pulling the red headed man up into the helicopter.

"Stop them!" Alain shouted. "Charizard, Dragon Claw!" But due to the strong wind, Charizard was grounded. It couldn't even safely launch a Flamethrower without risking it blowing back at them.

Alain raised his right hand and tried to look up at the helicopter, when he felt something brush his left arm. He looked down, and saw Bryony's Liepard right next to him, his Mega Ring in its mouth. "Hey, come back with that!" he shouted, but the Cruel Pokemon paid him no mind. Alain dove at it, but it was too quick, and dashed away before he could stop it. It ran up along side Bryony, who was racing to the helicopter with Celosia. Moments later, her Bisharp joined the trio. Alain heart sank when he saw what it carried. He looked back at Charizard to see its neck bare. Lysander had taken back his Keystone and Mega Stone.

The four scientists and Pokemon reached the helicopter and were pulled up in a similar manner to Lysander before the chopper began to ascend. In a desperate attempt to stop them, Alain shouted, "Flamethrower!" Charizard, fired the move, but the wind only blew it to nothing. As the chopper cleared the top of the building, Lysander leanded out of the open door and looked stright down at Alain. His stare said: _I may have lost the battle, but I will win in the end._ And with that the chopper was gone.

Alain stared at the sky where it the helicopter had been shock plastered all over his face. He couldn't believe it. They were gone. And they had his keystone and Mega Stone. _How am I supposed to protect the ones I love now? Professor Sycamore, Mairin, Zara-_

He looked back at Zara as he thought her name, but stopped his train of thought as soon as he saw her. She was still on her flat on her back, her eyes closed. Alain's pulse spiked. He raced over to her and shook her. "Zara! Zara!" he shouted wildly.

She didn't move.

Without thinking twice, he scooped her up and ran to the Pokemon Center. He turned her over to Nurse Joy, and she took Zara back into her treatment room immediately.

Steven, Wally, Mairin, and the Professor came in right after him. They asked him what happened, but he didn't answer. All he cared about at the moment was making sure Zara was alright.

Time passed. Alain wasn't sure how much. He sat in the lobby of the Pokemon Center untill Nurse Joy arrived at the door to the room, staring at the walls but seeing nothing.

"Well, I'm happy to report that Zara seemes to be just fine."

Tension flowed out of Alain's nerves, leaving him feeling slightly boneless, and he sank back into his chair.

"What was wrong with her, Nurse Joy?" Steven asked.

"It seems she passed out due to exhaution and a lack of nutrition. Give her some time, and she should be fine, but she needs to rest."

"Of course," Steven said.

"Can we go in and see her?" Wally asked. When Nurse Joy looked hesitant, he insisted, "We won't bother her. Please?"

Another moment of hesitation from Nurse Joy, but finally she gave Wally a nod, and the green-haired trainer walked quickly but quietly to the door, followed closely by Steven.

Nurse Joy stepped back toward her counter, but stopped when she glanced at Alain. Hurring over to him, she asked, "How did you get that cut?"

Alain looked down at his left arm to find it had a long, bloody cut just above his wrist. "I...don't know," he answered truthfully. He hadn't even noticed the cut untill she'd mentioned it.

"Let me get you a bandage. Do you have any other injuries?" Nurse Joy asked.

Now that she asked, Alain's shoulder was throbing. "My shoulder hurts a little."

Nurse Joy felt both of his shoulders for injures, but quickly announced that they were only bruised. Then she hurried off, and was back in a moment with a white strip of bandage and a clean cloth. She cleaned all the blood off his arm and wrapped the bandage around it twice. "There. Now be careful with that arm," she cautioned before going back behind her counter. A couple of students walked in and handed her some pokeballs.

Alain sank back into his chair and let his thoughts wash over him. Zara was safe. Mairin was here, safe. Lysander had lied to him. His keystone was gone. It was his fault Zara passed out.

Fingers snapped in front of his eyes, brining him back to reality. "Alain, I asked if you could explain what was going on here," Professor Sycamore repeated.

Alain looked him in the eye for the first time in a long time. "I don't know."

"You don't know what happened?"

"I don't know if I can explain."

"Please try." Professor Sycamore said gently.

"Yeah, why were you fighting Lysander?" Mairin asked, innocent confusion written all over her face.

Alain took a deep breath. And then starting from the very begining, the first day he had ever met Lysander, he explained everything that had happened up till that moment in time. How Lysander had asked him to help him protect people, about meeting Mairin, about Chespie's accident and it being his fault, about his mission to gather Mega Evolution energy to heal Chespie, about being assigned to come to this seminar, about meeting Zara and becoming friends with her, about telling Lysander something importaint she'd asked him to keep a secret, about Lysander refusing to let him be near her, about her disappearing, about fighting with Lysander over reading her note, and about finding her and figuring out everything he'd been told was a lie. He pointedly left out telling the Professor Zara's secret and about his feelings for her.

"And you know the rest," he finished. "We battled and Lysander escaped." He let his head drop into his hand miserablely, unable to look at the Professor any longer. "I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen, I-"

Suddenly he arms wrap around him, and he looked down at Mairin. She was hugging him tightly, like she was afraid there would be no tommorow. Chespie too, hugged him as best it could from its perch on Mairin's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Alain. You were only trying to help."

Alain opened his mouth to argue that it was his fault, but Professor Sycamore didn't let him. "I wish you had come back to me and asked me about this. We might have avoided you putting yourself through all this." He gazed at Alain for a long time before adding softly, "I missed you."

Alain swallowed hard. He'd missed the Professor too, but he couldn't say it out loud. He didn't think Sycamore fully understood everything he'd told him, but not for a lack of trying. SImply because he hadn't been there, he hadn't felt everything Alain had felt, or seen everything he'd seen. He felt his eyes getting moist, but immediantly forced the tears away, determined not to let the feeling of sadness show on his face. It was more habit than anything that made him do it, but he didn't want anyone to see how he felt. No one would truly understand.

"From now on, we stay in touch?"

Alain nodded.

Professor Sycamore smiled fondly. "Now, I'm going to go check on Zara. Do you want to come with me?"

"Me too?" Mairin piped up.

Alain looked down. "No thanks."

The Professor looked surprised, as did Mairin. "Will you be alright out here by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. Feel free to join us anytime. Coming Mairin?" And as he rose, Professor Sycamore layed a hand on Alain's shoulder, then left and went into the treatment room. Mairin gave Alain a quick hug, then followed right behind him.

Alain sighed heavily. He wanted to go with the Professor and Mairin, he really did. But not to see Zara. _I'm the one who caused her to end up like this. I'd be lucky if she didn't slit my throat if I went in there. I don't want to upset her, or cause her any more pain. She doesn't deserve that._

 _And I don't deserve her. I love her, but I don't deserve her._

He clenched his fists and gripped the fabric of the chair seat angrily. Pain ripped at his heart at the thought of just leaving Zara without even speaking to her, without telling her how he felt, but he knew it was for the best. _There is only one day left in the seminar. Battle Carl tomorrow, stay away from her, and then you'll go back to Kalos and never see her again. Then, perhaps, she can be safe._

And so, with a heavy heart, he rose and trudged out of the Pokemon Center.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara opened her eyes groggily. Her surrounding were haze of colors.

"Hey guys, she's waking up!" someone whispered excitedly.

Zara blinked twice and brought her surroundings into focus. She was in a bed, in the Pokemon Center's treatment room. At the foot of her bed were Wally and a red-headed girl with a green cap and a Chespin on her shoulder, on her left was a tall man in a royal blue button up, and on her right was Steven.

"How do you feel Zara?" Steven asked gently.

And then everything washed back over her. Lysander had kidnapped her. She'd fought him with Alain. He'd escaped. He was still out there. And he still wanted her.

"I need to go," she mumbled, tried to sit up. He head swam at the movement, and she immedantely plopped back down on her pillow.

"Woah there, young lady, your not going anywhere yet," the man in the blue shirt said.

"Nurse Joy said you need to rest," Wally added.

"Can't rest. Have to get out of here before they come back." Zara mumbled again, trying to sit up again, but Steven pushed her back down onto the bed.

"Zara," he said slowly and firmly, "Why do you need to leave? Why were you leaving in the first place? And why couldn't you tell me why you were leaving?"

Zara looked away from him at the wall of the room. "I guess you want an explination for what I said in my note," she mumbled.

"Mmm-hmm," Steven said pointedly.

"I can't tell you."

"But why not, Zara? Have you done something wrong?"

"We won't be upset, Zara," Wally said pleadingly. "Please tell us."

Zara looked back at Wally. His face was full of concern and caring for her, and it tore her heart apart to have to look at him. _Oh, Wally, if only you knew the half of what I've done, then you wouldn't want anything to do with me._ Tears began to fill her eyes, but she choked them back. _I worked so hard to make a fresh start here. And even though I escaped the Team, I still can't stay without having to tell them everything._

"Zara, please, I want to help you with whatever the problem is," Steven coaxed.

 _I know you do, but I don't want to talk about it. You wouldn't understand. You never had anything like this happen to you._ "I don't want to talk about it."

"But we need to know to keep it from happening again."

Zara looked up at him quickly."That's why you want to know this?"

"Of course," Steven answered immediantly, "I don't want anything to happen to you Zara. Why else would I ask?"

 _Just to know, so you could pity me. So you could start an investigation on the mineral. So you could look into my parents' deaths. I don't want any of that. I wanted to start over, to have another chance at safety. I never wanted to tell anyone about that ever again. Which is what I should have done in the first place..._

 _...right?_ And Zara looked at Steven again. _But if I'd told him to begin with, would any of this happened at all? I wouldn't have told Alain anything, because I wouldn't have felt a need to tell someone. And Steven would have protected me from Lysander. That is, if Lysander ever even figured out who I was._

 _...I need to tell them the truth. And then I can leave when I get better, if I still want to. They'll probably want me to leave after I tell them I lied to them. And I probably would leave anyway. I'd rather the past stay buried._

Taking a deep breath, Zara began slowly with, "It's a long story, and I guess I need to start at the beginning. But if I tell you this, you have to promise me that we will never speak of it again. Ever."

Everyone in the room nodded.

Zara took another deep breath. "You know what I told you about my parents?" she asked, addressing Steven.

"About them leaving for another region and never coming back? Yes, I remember," Steven said.

"Well, I sort of...I didn't exactly...I lied," Zara blurted. After that, the whole story just poured out, one thing after then next. What had happened to her parents, how she'd hidden in the forest for three years, how she'd met Courtney, how she'd run from Team Flare for years, why she'd initially accepted Steven's offer to become his assistant, why she'd lied to him, then all about meeting Alain and him saving her from Courtney, about telling him everything, about then finding out he was part of the Team that had killed her parents, about running and hiding and skipping meals for the past few days, about being held captive by Celosia, and about Alain finding her. "And Lysander's still out there, and he still wants me," she finished. Ducking her head, she went on, "Now, I understand that what I did was wrong, and I shouldn't have lied to any of you."

Beside her, Steven sighed. "You mean all these times when you were happy and cheerful around me, around everybody, they were all forced?"

"Not all of them," Zara said honestly as she lifted her head, "only the times that I thought of my parents. Or Team Magma. Or my...my lie."

"I thought you were one of the most upbeat people I'd ever met, Zara. You were always acting so carefree." Steven sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "I wish you'd just told me. It would have saved the both of us a lot of unecessary pain."

Zara gaze at her mentor faltered and lowered back to the bed sheet. She hated it when Steve talked to her like this. It meant he was disappointed with her. Tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them back. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "If you want, I'll leave as soon as I recover. I know you won't want me here as your assistant anymore. Or your friend." The last sentence was directed at Wally as well.

Suddenly Steven pulled Zara into a sitting position and hugged her around the shoulders. "Why would you think that, Zara? Just because you lied to me?" Steven let go of her and drew back, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm not pleased that you lied, but that's no reason to throw you out on your own. Besides, I'd never be able to find a better assistant in the whole Hoenn region than the one I have right here."

"And I'd never find a better friend in the whole world!" Wally affirmed. He raced around the bed, and coming up beside Steven, leaned over and hugged Zara as best he could.

Zara felt the tears threatening to spill over again as Wally's arms wrapped around her, but again she forced them back. Without hesitating, Zara hugged him back as hard as she could. "Thank you," she whispered. She wasn't sure who she was talking to; Steven, Wally, both, or Arceus for giving her such wonderful friends. Emotions of fear, sadness, loneliness, guilt, worry, and many other things rattled around inside her, but for the first time in a long time, somehow they seemed managable. The whole thing still threatened to overwhelm her if she wasn't careful, and she still didn't want to talk about any of her past with them, but the tempest of fear in her had calmed considerably. "I still don't evey want to talk about this again. It's in the past, and that's how I want it to stay."

Steven only gave her a firm, but disappointed, nod. Wally only hugged her tighter.

Pulling back from Wally, and doing her very best to wipe all the sadness off her face, she said in as much of a mock accusing voice as she could, "Well, are you going to introduce me to these other two visitors, or will I have to guess at their names?"

Wally smiled a broad smile that made Zara smile back at him. Steven smiled tiredly, and said, "This is Professor Sycamore and Mairin. The Professor is researching Mega Evolution, and is here to watch the Seminar and conduct a little research."

"And I came to watch Alain battle!" Mairin piped up.

"So you're Mairin?" Zara said, smile still on her lips. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Chespin!" the Chespin on Mairin's shoulder cried and jumped onto her bed.

"And nice to meet you too, um, Chespin? Is that how you say its name?" Zara asked.

"It is a Chespin, but its name is Chespie," Mairin explained. "Professor Sycamore woke it up right before we left Kalos to come here and see Alain, and Chespie's all better now."

Zara looked to Professor Sycamore. "Why do I get the feeling that you didn't just wake it up from a nap?"

The Professor stared back at Zara for a long moment without saying anything. Finally, he said, "I suppose you should know about this, considering how deeply you were involved." And slowly but steadily, he began to explain about what had happened to Chespie. But instead of starting with a story about how this Chespin had accidently gotten into something at his lab it shouldn't have like Zara thought he would, he started to tell her about Alain. He told her about Alain meeting Lysander and getting tricked into working for him, about Alain meeting Mairin, about them fighting Groudon and Kyogre, which Zara politely didn't tell him she already knew all about, about Chespie's accident at Lysander Labs, and about Alain's promise to heal it. When he finished, Zara could only stare at him.

 _So Alain wasn't trying to kidnap me. He didn't even know he was working for a Team. He was only trying to help Mairin. And he was trying to help me when he fought Lysander. He was trying to save me. Trying to fix what he'd done. That's all he's ever been trying to do._

 _Boy, do I know how that feels. Trying to fix a problem, on your own, that seems way too big to fix, and only seemes to keep getting worse as time goes by._

 _And boy, was I ever wrong about him._

"If you knew all this, why didn't you try to help Alain sooner?" Wally asked Professor Sycamore.

"I only found most of it out a few minutes ago myself," the Professor replied.

"Alain just told us out in the lobby," Mairin added.

That caught Zara's attention. "Alain's out in the lobby?"

"He was when we came in here," Professor Sycamore answered. "Do you want me to go and get him for you?"

Before Zara could answer, the Pokemon Center's chime to indicate a Pokemon had finished healing went off, and the next thing Zara knew, the door to her room banged open and Sceptile was beside her bed, prodding her for injuries.

"Hey, Sceptile, nice to see you buddy! Feeling better?" Zara asked.

"Scep!"

"Good. Think you can help me get out to the lobby?"

Sceptile gave her a worried glance.

"Don't worry, Sceptile, I'm fine, just a little weak."

"Tile."

Zara eased herself off the bed, and keeping a firm grip on Sceptile's collar, stood up. Her injured ankle still hurt, but it was much better than before. Other than that she felt fine, just hungry and a bit tired. Taking careful steps, she and Sceptile walked to the door of the room, and Zara leaned out of the doorway. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but stopped abruptly. Alain was no where to be seen.

"Are you sure he's out here?" she asked back over her shoulder.

The Professor came to the door and looked out. "He was earlier, but he isn't now. I'm sorry Zara. I can try to find him if you want."

 _He left without even checking to see if I was alright..._

Guilt flooded into her for the things she'd said to him. _I called him a liar. No wonder he looked like he was playing dumb. He had no idea what I was talking about. And I slapped him._

 _No wonder he left. For that matter, if he left without even coming into my room, he probably doesn't want to talk to me. Can't say that I blame him. I'd probably have done the same thing. He just stuck around long enough to make sure he hadn't caused any permanent injuries and then left. Made sure he fixed what he'd caused, that's all he cared about. Didn't care to check on me, probably because he doesn't care about me specifically, just about me as a victim._

 _He's a better friend than I every deserved. Than I ever will deserve._

 _But I should still try and find him and apologize. Even if he doesn't want to hear it, I have to at least say I was sorry, and then he can go back to Kalos and live his own life peacfully._

Zara opened her mouth to answer the Professor that, thanks, but no, she would find him herself, when she caught a question Wally posed to Steven.

"Is Zara still disqualified?"

That caught her attention, and her head snapped toward the Champion. "I'm disqualified?!"

"Well," Steven began awkwardly, "you did supposedly leave, and you're in no condition to battle anyone right now, so I think we should let you rest and say you made it to the top-"

"Who am I supposed to battle?" Zara interjected, cutting him off.

"What? You're in no condition to-" Steven began again.

"Who am I supposed to battle?" Zara cut him off again.

"It doesn't matter, because you aren't going to battle-"

"Wally, who am I supposed to battle?" Zara interjected again, turning her attention to the young trainer.

"Um..." Wally looked from Zara, to Steven, then back to Zara. Finally he said very meekly, "Carl." Immediatly he covered his head with his hands and cowered away from Steven. "I'm sorry, but she asked," he said.

Without another word, Zara marched out of the Pokemon Center and into the courtyard, Sceptile right beside her supporting her leg with the bad ankle. Two thoughts fought in her mind; _Find Alain and try to apologize, or find Carl and ask for a battle?_

The choice hurt her, but she chose to battle Carl. After all, that was the first reason she'd come here at all, to win the Seminar. And she could find Alain later. Besides, he probably didn't want to see her anyway.

Once outside, everyone turned to stare at her, and several of the students ran up to her and offered to help her. Zara refused the help as politely as she could, and when she spotted Astrid in the yard, called out to her, "Hey, Astrid! Where's Carl?"

Astrid called back, "In the training room. Why? You're not going to battle him, are you?"

Zara only shot her a confident grin in reply. She felt anything but confident, but that didn't mean she was going to let it show.

Astrid left the courtyard and returned a few minutes later with Carl. "Hey, Zara!" the dark-haired trainer exclaimed as soon as he saw her, "You alright after that battle of yours earlier?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't a lie. She felt fine, as in not in pain anywhere. But inside she longed to go find Alain. "Do you still want to battle to see who goes to the finals, or do you want to go with Steven's call that I'm disqualified."

Carl gave her a big grin as he answered, "Wouldn't be fair if I didn't give you a chance to beat me, would it? That is, if your up to it?"

Zara grined back. "I'm definately up to it. Let's battle."

Carl went to the other trainer's box, leaving the nearer on for Zara, for which she was grateful. She, with a little help from Sceptile, walked over to it. Carl tossed a pokeball across the field, and his Lucario burst out in a flash of light. Sceptile gave Zara one last prod before stepping onto the field itself.

Steven came up to the side of the field and raised his arms. "Are you both ready?"

"Yep!" Carl said.

Zara shot Steven a grateful look as she nodded.

"Then battle begin!"

"Lucario, Mega Evlove!" Carl ordered, touching his keystone set in a his glove and crossing his arm over his chest.

 _I couldn't ask for a more determined opponent._ "Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" Zara shouted, touching her own keystone and throwing her hand above her head, fingers splayed outward.

Their battle was long and difficult. Most of it was a blur to Zara, simply her shouting commands, split-second decisions, to dodge Lucario's attacks and then strike back. After the first few blows were exchanged, they Mega Evolved their Pokemon and started the fight in ernest. But after several sucessful hits on both sides, it all came down to the last blow.

Lucario was on its back, thrown to the ground from above by a Leaf Blade from Sceptile. Sceptile had landed across the field from it lightly.

"Sceptile, finish this! Frenzy Plant! Go!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile let out a huge roar and slammed its tail into the ground. Huge roots spread out from its tail and toward Lucario. The Fighting and Steel type couldn't get to its feet fast enough, and howled in pain as the roots crashed down on it. When the dust from the attack cleared, Lucario was down for the count. In a flash, it reverted to its normal form. Carl recalled it, then shouted across the field, "Good battle Zara! I'm glad you were up for it!"

"Me too! By the way, since I won, who am I supposed to face tomorrow?" Zara called back.

"Alain!" Carl answered. Zara's heart did a flip.

Just then, the whistle for supper blew. She recalled Sceptile, then turned and walked out of the courtyard, through the hallway, and to the cafeteria. _I have to find Alain, and I have to apologize. Surely he'll be in here somewhere._

But to her surprise, Alain seemed to be the only one who wasn't in the cafeteria. Everyone, including Mairin and the Elite Four were there, except for Alain. Zara asked several people where he was, but no one had seen him since the fight earlier. Finally, hunger, and Steven insisting she sit down, forced her to stop her search temporarily. She ate, then struck out to look for him in other places. She checked the training rooms, the pool, the courtyard, and the whole second story, but found nothing. At last she made her way to his room and knocked.

It was Gordon who answered the door. "Hey, Zara, what's up?"

Zara got straight to the point. "Is Alain here?"

"No, I haven't seen him since this afternoon. Sorry."

"Oh." Zara hung her head. Then an idea hit her. "Can you wait her for just a minute Gordon? I'll be right back." She took off running as fast as her ankle would let her for her room. When she got there, she grabbed a drawstring back from her backpack. _Maybe this will help him see I'm sorry._

Opening the bag and putting a small apology gift inside, she drew it closed and raced back to Alain's room. "Here," she said, handing the bag to Gordon, "can you give this to him?"

"Sure," Gordon answered. "Got anything you want me to tell him?"

Zara hesitated. She didn't want to say too much and end up explaining the whole mess to Gordon. Thus she replied, "Tell him, 'I promised I would battle him.'" She had promised that. _Hopefully he won't be mad at me tomorrow. All I want to do is make things right, and then he can hate me all he wants for what I've said._

"Got it," Gordon answered.

Zara turned to go, but Gordon stopped her by asking, "So, do you think you're going to win tomorrow against Alain?"

Zara paused, then answered, "Only time will tell." _About lots of things..._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain sat on the roof, Charizard behind him, gazing up at the stars. The sun had set only a matter on minutes ago, but he was to lost in thought to move. He'd watched Zara battle from up here, he'd seen her win. So now he had to battle her tomorrow.

His mind was at war again, fighting itself. Every part of him wanted to go to her and apologize for what he'd done, and explain why he'd done it, to tell her how he felt because she would listen and she might even understand. But he wouldn't. Somehow, her battling Carl today as soon as she was better only confirmed in his mind that she wanted nothing more to do with him. And then she hadn't even come up here tonight, probably because she'd seen him and was staying away from him. She clearly hated him. And now he had to battle her.

Then again, he wasn't at all sure how he was going to battle her without a Mega Stone or keystone. Perhaps it was a good thing that Lysander had taken them. Now he could leave early without having to bother Zara anymore, and she could be declared the winner. Somehow losing the Seminar didn't bother him in comparison to his other problems.

Rousing his restless mind, he recalled Charizard, climbed down the fire escape, and went to his room. Gordon was there, writting somthing on a piece of notebook paper. Alain paid him no attention as he walked to his bed and lay down on it.

Suddenly, as he lay down, his back came into contact with something hard. Sitting up and reaching underneath him, he pulled a black drawstring bag out. It had something inside it. Something hard and round. Loosening the strings, Alain reaching inside and drew out a Mega Stone. Specifically, a black and blue Charizardite.

He couldn't belive his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, Zara came by earlier and told me to get that to you," Gordon said off-handedly, only glancing up from his writting.

Alain felt hundreds of emotions well up inside him, but he didn't know what to make of any of them. "Why?" he finally forced out.

"Said something about promising to battle you," Gordon replied.

Alain stared at the stone, cradling it in his hands. _She gave me this stone? To keep? She can't hate me that much if she was willing to give me this._

 _But she probably only gave me it because she promised to battle me, and I can't battle without a Mega Stone._

 _But if she really hated you, she would have just let you lose._

 _She promised to battle you. This is only her way of keeping her promise. If she meant anything else by it, she would have found you and told you otherwise._

Setting the stone on his nightstand, Alain showered, then lay down and stared at it. Sleep was slow in coming, but when it came, it was a far more gentle sleep than he'd had the last few night. Not completely peaceful, but calm enough to endure. Things still bothered him, but he felt more at peace than he had in a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **And now that I've finished this incrediably long chapter, I'm begining to think I should have made this a two parter. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Only one day left in the Mega Evolution Seminar! Only one more battle to fight! Only one more chance for Zara and Alain to fix their friendship.**

 **By the way, who do you guys think should win the final battle? Zara or Alain?**

 **As always, please review!**


	17. The End Or The Beginning?

Day 14: The End...Or The Begining?

Alain woke the next morning to sunshine streaming in the open window. Groaning, he pulled the blankets over his head and tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. He was awake, and it was too bright in the room, even with the covers over his head, to fall back asleep.

Kicking the blankets off of himself, he rose to his feet and glanced at his clock. It read six forty-five. In fifteen minutes breakfast would begin. And then he had his battle to fight. The final battle of the school. Against Zara. And then he'd go home to Kalos with the Professor and Mairin. And all of this would be behind him.

His eyes darted around the room untill they came to rest on the table between the beds. Specifically, on the Mega Stone that lay on it. Alain picked it up and rolled in his hands. Why had Zara given him this? What was she trying to accomplish? She'd already told him to leave her alone and that she never wanted to see him again. So why give him a gift?

 _So she can battle you, of course._

 _But she said she said to stay away. Why battle me if she wants nothing to do with me?_

 _Because she promised._ His thoughts drifted back to what she'd said when she'd found out he'd broken his promise. That she would never forgive him. _And she keeps her word. Even if I don't._

The thought stung him, and he gripped the stone tighter in anger. Why had he told Lysander her secret? Her troubles were all his fault. He deserved not to be forgiven.

Alain slid the Mega Stone into his pocket, dressed, and headed downstairs. His steps were slow and heavy, reflecting his mood, and the stone in his pocket seemed to burn into his leg. All it seemed to do was remind him of how much he had lost over the past few days.

He trudged into the cafeteria to find Steven, Professor Sycamore, Mairin, and Wally all seated at one table. Mairin waved him over and scooted the chair next to hers out for him. He sat down, and the Professor pushed a tray down the table toward him. Alain took it, and with an effort, put his thought of Zara out of his mind and ate.

Mairin started talking almost as soon as he sat down, and didn't stop for several minutes. She told Alain all about the Professor getting her and Chespie out of Lysander Labs, and about healing it. To Alain, she seemed determined to make up for all the time she'd spent away from him by talking even faster then normal. She'd finished telling him all about the Professor's latest discovery on Mega Evolution, in her own words, when Chespie suddenly leaped off of her shoulder and hugged his arm. Mairin stopped talking to see what her Pokemon was doing, then just as suddenly, she hugged him too. "I'm glad your okay, Alain," she said through the fabric of his jacket.

Alain put his arm around her and hugged her back, a bit awkwardly how she had a hold of him. He'd missed her too. And Chespie. But it was over now, she was fine, and she'd forgiven him. At the last thought, Alain felt Mairin brush against his pocket, and the stone inside burned against his leg again.

"Hey, Zara, saved you a seat!"

At Wally's words, Alain looked up to see Zara striding over to the table. She looked like she was completely back to normal, save for a slight limp. She came up next to Wally and sat down in the chair he offered. The chair that just so happened to be right across from his. She seated herself, and Steven pushed a tray over to her. She took it, and started eating, striking up a conversation with the other people at the table, but never looking at him.

"So Steven, was the seminar all you hoped it would be?"

"Definately. Who do you think's going to win today's battle?" Steven asked her.

"Only time will tell," Zara answered immediately.

"What about you, Alain? Who do you think will win?" Steven asked him.

Alain didn't answer right away. To be honest, he wasn't sure which of them would win the battle. As he considered his answer, his gaze came to rest on Zara. She looked up at him, clearly waiting for his response, and as she did, her eyes met his.

For only a second, many different emotions flashed in her eyes. Regret and sadness, fear and anxiety, and possibly hope and longing. In that second he wanted to apologize, to plead with her to forgive him, to tell her he loved her. But the emotions were gone as soon as they had appeared, and Zara quickly lowered her eyes to the table, looking away from him, and back at her food. Anger burned in the pit of his stomach, and he dropped his own eyes guiltily to the table.

"Alain? Zara?" Steven said slowly, "Is everything alright?"

Alain didn't reply, but Zara's head shot up, and she smiled a broad, if not slightly forced, smile. "Yeah, I'm fine Champion. Just a little sore from yesterday and nervous about today. I mean, this is a really big deal, is it not?"

Steven gave her a meaningful look, holding her gaze untill Zara dropped it again. "I hope that you would tell me if something was wrong, Zara," he said pointedly.

Zara sighed and put her chin in her hand, "It's complicated, Champion, and I'd rather not talk about it," she said in a subdued voice.

Professor Sycamore reached around Mairin and layed a hand on Alain's shoulder. "Anything bothering you that we should know about?" he asked.

Alain looked up at him, considering whether or not to tell him what as on his mind. He chose not to, and instead answered, " I can't battle today."

The Professor gave him a surprised look. "Why not?"

"My Keystone and Mega Stone were stolen." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the Charizardite Zara had given him and set it on the table. "I have a new Mega Stone, but not a Keystone."

The Professor stared at the stone for several seconds, before finally saying, "I can give you a new Keystone, Alain, but where did you get that Mega Stone?"

Reluctantly, Alain replied, "From Zara." He kept his eyes on the table as he said this, but he could hear Zara shifting in her seat across from him.

"That's one of the stones you found on the mining trip you made with me to Kalos a while back, isn't it?" Steven asked Zara.

When Zara didn't answer, Alain looked up at her to see her nodding to Steven.

"Wait a minute, how did you know Alain's Mega Stone and Keystone were stolen, Zara?" Wally asked. "I thought you got knocked out before that happened."

"Professor Sycamore told her that yesterday, remember Wally?" Mairin explained.

"You did?" Alain asked, addressing the Professor. He'd simply assumed Gordon or Astrid had told her they'd been stolen.

"I did," Professor Sycamore confirmed.

"Why did you give that stone to Alain, Zara?" Steven asked. "I thought you said you'd never trade it for anything."

Zara shifted in her seat again before answering, "I promised him if I didn't battle him in the competition, that I would battle him before the Seminar was over." As she finished saying this, she peeked up at Alain, accidently catching his eye again. Immedately she looked away again. Alain dropped his gaze the table once again. Feeling awkward, he shifted his feet under the table, accidently bumping Zara's leg as he did. He recoiled when he brushed up against her, quickly turning to look at the doorway. If he'd looked the other direction, he would have seen Steven and Professor Sycamore exchange concerned looks.

Zara grabbed her fork and began to hurriedly finish the food still on her tray. When she finished, she asked, "How long untill I have to be on the battle field?

Steven glanced at his watch. "Thirty minutes."

"Well, in that case, I'm going to train," Zara stated, pushing back her chair and rising. Alain noticed she was still putting most of her weight on her good foot, and suddenly another wave of guilt and anger washed over him. He scooped the stone off the table and put it back in his pocket, not wanting ot look at it any longer.

Zara reached into her own pocket and pulled out a pokeball, pushed the button on it, and released her Medicham. It materialized in a flash of white light and broke into quick dance, twirling around twice, giving a few little jumps and taking a bow. Mairin clapped when it finished, prompting another bow from the Fighting and Psychic type.

"What a ham," Zara said fondly with a smile and a role of her eyes.

"Are you going to train Medicham?" Wally asked.

"Not exactly, Wally," Zara replied cryptically. "More like I'm going to train me."

Wally's face lit up at this, but everyone else's showed confusion. "What does that mean?" Mairin asked.

"Want to come find out?" Zara asked with a wink.

"Yes, please!" Mairin replied. She and Wally pushed their chairs back and scrambled to follow Zara and Medicham. Zara smiled at them and turned toward the cafeteria doors.

"Be careful, Zara! Don't hurt yourself!" Steven called after her. Zara only raised a hand to acknowledge his words.

When the three of them were gone, Steven excused himself, saying he needed to go help get everything ready for the battle. That left Alain alone with Professor Sycamore.

"Alain," the Professor began slowly, "are you sure the only thing that's bothering is not having a Keystone?" As he said this, he slid a hand into the pocket of his pants and drew out a Keystone, placing it on the table next to Alain.

Alain took the Keystone but didn't reply. He just sat there, turning the stone around and around in his fingers, thinking.

 _She's safe and happy here. Without me._

 _Get over it! She doesn't need you! Accept that and move on._

But he didn't want to. He wanted to be with her. If he left her behind, he knew he'd miss her like he'd missed Mairin when he'd left her here before. And he wanted to protect her from Team Flare. He wanted to always be there for her to keep her safe. And somehow...he needed her. Before all this had happened, whenever he was around her, he felt...at peace, somehow. She to calm the raging storm inside of him in a way that he didn't understand but welcomed readily. He felt he might be able to rely on her to help him when he needed it. At least with some things.

 _But she has Steven to protect her. And she's not clumsy or careless like Mairin. And she doesn't want to be around you. Didn't you see her a minute ago? She wouldn't even say your name she hates you so much._

 _No matter what you want, she doesn't want the same thing. And you can't force her to care about you._

His fingers stoppped turning the Keystone and gripped it instead.

"Alain?" Professor Sycamore asked warily.

Alain sighed in a depressed manner and pushed his chair back from the table. "I think I'm going to take a walk."

The Professor looked ready to argue, but instead pushed back his own chair and said, "Mind if I join you?"

Alain shook his head.

The two started to walk around the first floor of the building. Professor Sycamore struck up a conversation, telling him about many things that had happened since they'd lost touch, and occasionally asking questions, to which Alain would reply with short, direct answers. Much as he enjoyed being back with the Professor, his mind was to distracted and guilt ridden to focus on the Professor's conversation.

As they walked around the building for the third time, Mairin suddenly raced around a courner ahead of them and ran up to him. "Alain!" she cried, grabbing his arm, "You've got to come see what Zara's doing! It's amazing! You too, Professor!"

Alain hesitated to let Mairin pull him off to where Zara was, but eventually he gave in and allowed her to take him to the training room. She let go of him at the doorway, but he didn't go in, content to watch from the doorway. Professor Sycamore stayed right behind him.

Zara and Medicham were inside, training, as Zara put it, her. They were both in defensive fighting postures, slowly circling each other, eyes locked in anticipation. Then Medicham leaped forward and threw a punch at Zara. She avoided it, and tried to punch her Pokemon in the back as it sailed by her. Medicham avoided her punch, and swung it leg around in an attempt to knock her in the knees. Zara jumped over Medicham's leg and again threw a punch, this time at Medicham's head. The fight went on for several minutes, neither Pokemon nor trainer landing or taking a hit the whole time, both moving in perfect rhythum, untill Zara jumped to dodge a kick from Medicham and landed on her bad foot. It gave out under her almost as soon as she landed, making her fall, and giving Medicham a chance to punch her in the shoulder. Zara tumbled lightly to the floor, and stayed down, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.

Alain's heart lurched when he saw her fall, and without thinking, he raced to her side to see if she was alright. Medicham was already there, offering her a hand up, but Zara just waved it away, giving a breathy, "I'm fine, just give me a minute."

Medicham took a step back, but Alain didn't listen to her. He bent down and began to look her over for injuries. He visually scaned first her feet, then her chest and shoulders where Medicham had punched her, then the rest of her. But as he looked her over, his gaze found its way up to Zara's face, and his eyes met hers. Again he watched as the same jumble of emotions from before showed in them. Zara opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly looked away, not wanting to hear it. Without another word, he rose and left the training room, ignoring the three confused looks he got. Behind him, he heard Wally asking Professor Sycamore, "Should we take her to Nurse Joy?", but he didn't wait to hear the reply.

He walked out to the courtyard, and sat down underneath the one sizable tree in it. _Why did I rush to help her? She had her Pokemon with her, she could take care of herself._

 _Why do I want to be with her so much? Why can't I just let her go already?_

 _Because I love her. Because she makes me happy. Because she always seems to know what to do, even in the toughest situations and I don't. Because she is everything I can't be. Because she, of all people, could understand me._

 _And she deserves so much better._

He drove his fist into the dirt as his anger threatened to boil over. Slowly, he drew in a deep breath and let it out, keeping his eyes closed as he did. When he opened them, he saw students pouring out of the side doors into the courtyard. Steven and the Elite Four came out with them, as did Professor Sycamore, Wally, his Gallade, Mairin, and Chespie.

And behind them, Zara came out the door, still limping slightly. She marched, as best she could, up to the closer trainer's box, while Steven stepped up to the side of the field to referee. Alain hauled himself to his feet and strode into the other trainer's box.

As he stepped into the box, however, the front doors of the courtyard burst open, and several adults walked in, most of them carrying large TV cameras or other equipment that news crews used.

"What's going on?" he asked Steven, though he thought he knew.

"The Hoen Buzz Nav channel heard about the seminar and called me yesterday to ask if they could record some of our battles. So, I said yes." Steven answered.

 _So our battle is going to be on television,_ Alain thought. _Great. Now I really don't want to lose._

But then another thought struck him. _But if Zara beats me, if I let her win the seminar, maybe that would make it up to her for everything I've done. Maybe that would be a fitting apology. Maybe then she wouldn't hate me anymore. And maybe then...I could tell her...no, she deserves better than me. But I will make it up to her._

 _No matter what it takes._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Zara stood in her trainer's box, watching the Buzz Nav news crew set up their equipment. Hard as she tried to focus on their work, or on the battle ahead of her, or Steven and the crowd of students around him, her attention kept slipping to the one place she was trying to ignore. Namely, Alain.

All her feelings seemed to be smothering her from the inside. Feelings of awkwardness this morning at breakfast, having to sit across from him, and yet of yearning at being so close to him, and then of sadness at knowing he didn't truly care about her. This was the last day of the seminar. If he still truly regarded her as a friend, wouldn't he be trying to spend some time with her? No, he didn't want to be with her.

 _Just get over it!_

 _But...I love him. He saved my life, more than once. And Wally's. And he makes me happy. He makes me feel safe, like I haven't felt in years. Like there's finally someone out there who I can trust, who isn't a Pokemon._

She sighed and glanced at Alain again out of the corner of her eye. It _d_ _oesn't matter anyway. You can't make him care about you. He's got other friends to be with, ones he hasn't seen in a while._

 _Ones who are better suited to be called friends. After all you've done, you should be thankful that Steven and Wally still want anything to do with you. Don't push it. Be glad you still have anyone to turn to._

She glanced at Alain again _. But they aren't him. He's brave and selfless and...perfect._

 _And you're not worth his time._

She screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out her thoughts, but instead, she found her mind slipping to images of Alain from that morning. From after she'd fallen in the training room. When he'd rushed over to her. When she'd looked into his eyes.

So many things had flashed through his eyes in that brief moment. Sorrow, anxiety, stress, concern, confusion, pain, anger, longing, and more, too many to name or understand. What had he been thinking? She wanted to ask, but what did it truly matter? It was probably nothing she wanted to hear.

The news crew finished setting up their cameras, and the reporter took her position and began her report. Zara turned her attention back to Steven, who was lifting his arms in preparation to state the rules of the battle.

Her eyes drifted across the battle field once again to the opposite trainer's box. Zara sighed a heavy sigh. _Let him go. Life doesn't always give you what you want, you of all people should know that._

But she'd never wanted something this badly since...since...she'd lost her parents. She still wanted them back that badly. But that was impossible, and this... well, impossible might be a fitting description after all.

 _Maybe you could...no, he wouldn't want that. But what if...no, that's ridiculous. What's something he wants, something you could do that would really get his attention, and hopefully help convince him you're sorry?_

 _Wait...didn't Alain say back during the first few days of the seminar that his goal was to become the strongest? That he came here to win the seminar, for the people he cared about? I know he did. That would get his attention. I have to lose today, to let him win. If he wins, I don't know, it might help him see I'm sorry. Of course I can't tell him I lost on purpose, so maybe it won't help, but I can't think of a better idea. And I have to try something._

 _But if you lose, Steven might not let you challenge him. Who knows how long it might be before you get another chance at becoming the Champion?_

Zara looked slowly up at Alain again. _I'll have other chances to challenge Steven. But I may never get another chance to make this right._

Steven finished reciting all the rules of the battle as these thoughts finished going through Zara's head, and the Hoenn Champion finished with a, "Are you ready?"

Both Zara and Alain nodded to him.

"Then battle begin!" Steven shouted.

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted, throwing his pokeball. Charizard burst out, roaring and thrashing it's wings and tail in an impressively powerful manner. It turned back to Alain after it landed, and Alain gave it the Mega Stone Zara had given him.

"Sceptile, at the ready!" Zara cried, hurling her pokeball into the air. Sceptile burst out, snarling and glaring at Charizard and Alain with intelligent eyes. Charizard narrowed it's eyes back at Sceptile.

 _They certainly can't wait to get at each other,_ Zara thought.

Alain gave the first command. "Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

Charizard launched a Flamethrower across the field straight at Charizard.

"Dodge it!" Zara cried.

Sceptile leaped clear of the Flamethrower, never taking its eyes off Charizard.

"Fly at it, Charizard!" Alain commanded.

"Charge it, Sceptile!" Zara ordered.

Both Pokemon charged each other as fast as they could.

"Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered.

Zara hesitated for a second. _Why would he order a not very effective move when he could use a super effective_ _one?_ she wondered, but shruged it off. _Now's my chance to let him land some damage on me._ She hesitated again, making sure she waited long enough that Sceptile wouldn't have time to react, then shouted, "Dodge it Sceptile!"

Just like she'd planned, Sceptile didn't have time to react to her command, and took Charizard's Thunder Punch to its stomach. Giving a cry of confused pain, it tumbled backward, then rose to its feet and fixed Zara with an utterly puzzled stare. Zara only made a placating guesture, and Sceptile turned back to Charizard.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

Charizard surged forward at Sceptile once again, building speed as it closed.

"Use Detect!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile's eyes glowed blue and it cleanly dodged Charizard's multiple green claw swipes from its right claw. After a minute, Charizard grew frustrated and launched itself at Sceptile angrily, slashing at the Forest Pokemon, but Sceptile was ready for it and moved out of its way, letting the Flame Pokemon sail past it.

Zara expected to hear Alain frantically tell his Pokemon to pull up. Instead, silence met her ears. Charizard seemed to have expected the same thing, but not hearing clearly caught it by surprise, and instead of trying to save itself, it went spralling face first into the ground. Zara looked up at Alain, expecting to see frustration on his face, but instead was met with his normal calm and unreadable expression.

 _He's not surprised at all,_ she realised. _It's almost like he expected this to happen._

She quickly shoved the thought aside, deeming it crazy, and focused on Sceptile again. "From the depths of my heart, Keystone respond." she said as she touched her Keystone with two fingers. "Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" and she flung her hand, fingers splayed, above her head.

With a roar and a bright flash of light, Sceptile Mega Evolved. It whirled around so it's tail faced Charizard.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile opened its mouth and fired a Dragon Pulse at Charizard.

Across the field, Alain raised his new Keystone. "Keystone respond to my heart. Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" and he raised a fist, Keystone clutched inside it, into the air as the stone reacted.

Charizard Mega Evolved and roared, shooting a blast of blue fire into the air above it.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain commanded.

Charizard flapped its wings and took off down the field straight for Sceptile's Dragon Pulse. It closed and swiped at the rainbow colored attack with its Dragon Claw, dashing the attack to pieces. That much power took even Zara by surprise, and she opened her mouth to tell Sceptile to dodge, but Charizard didn't advance. Instead it just turned its back and flapped back toward Alain.

 _He just left himself wide open when he should have attacked._ Looking up, expecting Alain to be scolding Charizard or something, Zara was again faced with the same calm impassible look from before.

Charizard's back still turned a full two seconds later, Zara also knew that this was the prime chance for a counter attack on her part. But if she was trying to let him win, she couldn't just hit him like this.

 _He never acted like this during his other battles. He always kept attacking hard and fast untill Charizard couldn't go on any more. What happened? It's almost like he's trying to-_

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys!" someone in the crowd, who sounded like Mairin, shouted.

"Yeah, stop playing around!" someone else, who sounded like Wally, shouted.

Others began to mumble amongst themselves.

 _-messing up on purpose,_ Zara finished her thought. _What is going on with him? Is he really trying to lose?_

"Zara? Alain?" Steven whispered to them. "Is everything alright?" Zara could tell by his tone that he knew something was up.

"Time out," she said, holding up her hands in a "T" shape.

Everyone in the courtyard fixed her with strange looks, and even Sceptile turned to look at her.

Zara ignored the stares. Stepping out of her trainer's box, she walked around the perimeter of the field till she stood just outside of Alain's box. Keeping her voice down so that only he could hear her, she whispered forcefully, "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said without looking at her.

Zara couldn't quite keep the taken aback look off her face. "What do you mean?" _Could he actually tell I was messing up on purpose? ...Yeah, probably could._

"What do you mean?" he countered.

Zara bit back a retort. "Asked you first," she countered instead.

Alain turned to look at her, and fixed her sharp blue eyes on hers. Zara couldn't help it when her heart skipped a beat, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to return his gaze. After a moment, Alain said, "It doesn't matter." He looked away again, and Zara couldn't help but hear some sort of strain in his voice.

She took another deep breath to steady her own voice, then said, "Well what ever your doing, stop doing it."

"Only if you stop too."

 _And not let you win? Look Alain, I'm practically handing you the victory, and you're telling me to stop?_ "Why?"

He didn't answer for several minutes. Finally, just when Zara was ready to give up and go back to her trainer's box, he looked back at her and said, "When I asked to battle you, I wanted to see what you could really do. Let's just battle each other. No holding back. And no mistakes." His eyes held all the same emotions from before, still so mixed up, but one emotion seemed to shine through the others a bit. Sorrow. Sorrow when he looked straight at her.

Zara had to take another deep breath as his eyes met hers again. She nodded, and quickly turned and walked back to her trainer's box, heart pounding, eyes starting to mist over. _How can I ever make things right now? And why does he look so sad? What did I do now?_

 _It hurts too much to think about._

She stepped into her trainer's box, and turned on her heel to face the battle field. Steven gave both trainer's a curious glance before dropping a hand and saying, "Begin!"

Sceptile turned one eye on Zara and gave her a questioning glance. Zara took another deep breath, put on a determined face, and smiled back to her Pokemon with a confident smile. _Just forget about all of this and battle him like you really mean it. Enjoy it as a good battle with a strong opponent, nothing more, nothing less._

Sceptile gave her something akin to a smile back, and let out a growl at Charizard. Charizard only growled back louder.

"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered. _No holding back this time._

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.

The attacks met mid-field and exploded, sending up a huge smoke cloud. Several students cheered.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

"Dodge it!" Zara shouted.

Charizard charged Sceptile, and as it approached, began slashing at the Forest Pokemon as hard as it could. Sceptile only danced out of the way, ducking and dodging around every single swipe.

"Leaf Blade!" Zara commanded.

Sceptile jumped into the air as Charizard swiped at it, twisting around to slice its leaves across Charizard's back.

"Hit them with Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.

Charizard twisted its head around to an almost awkward angle and fired a Flamethrower at Sceptile. Sceptile reacted by raising its Leaf Blade attack over its face and intercepting the Fire type move. Charizard managed to push Sceptile back, but didn't hurt it overall.

"Dargon Pulse!" Zara shouted as soon as Sceptile landed.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse straight for Chrarizard, and Charizard flew up to meet it as it readied a Dragon Claw. The Flame Pokemon intercepted the move, cutting it to slivers of color, then charged forward to strike Sceptile. But Sceptile was gone.

"Leaf Blade!" Zara commanded.

From below Charizard, Sceptile jumped up and sliced a Leaf Blade across Charizard's wings. With a mighty roar, Charizard lost its balance and tumbled out of the air.

"Grab it and throw it to the ground!" Zara ordered.

Sceptile grabbed Charizard's arms and and bit down on its shoulder. It slung Charizard in over its head and threw it to the ground. It hit the ground and sent up a cloud of dust that settled quickly.

"Charizard!" Alain cried.

"Now Dragon Pulse again!" Zara shouted.

Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse down from where it had jumped at Charizard.

"Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered.

Charizard hauled itself to its feet and punched the incoming Dragon Pulse. The two moves canceled out and exploded.

As light smoke rolled across the field, Zara's eyes kept darting from Sceptile to Charizard, waiting for the chance to strike. The smoke cleared, but neither trainer nor Pokemon moved.

Then Alain cried, "Use Blast Burn!"

Zara watched as a flaming aura surrounded Charizard and it punched the ground. A small smile pulled at her lips as she ordered, "Detect, Sceptile!"

The battle field quickly began to break up into many small clumps of dirt and rocks, but Sceptile sucessfully dodged every blast of fire, jumping nimbly from clump to clump. The Blast Burn finally exploded, but Sceptile remained unscathed.

As the smoke from the attack began to clear, Zara thought she heard a frustrated growl from Alain's side at the field. The smile the had pulled at her lips quickly became an ear-to-ear grin. "Use Dragon Pulse!" she ordered. _Now this is what I hoped a battle with him would be like!_

Sceptile shot a Dragon Pulse through the smoke at Charizard's silhouette, cutting a clear path through the wispy grey smoke. She knew Charizard wouldn't be able to intercept it so soon, and if it tried to dodge, she'd be ready for it.

"Get out of the way, Charizard!" Alain shouted.

Charizard flew to the right and avoided the move, but it stirred up the smoke and added some dust to the mix, lowering visibility again.

Zara whistled between her teeth and when Sceptile looked at her, she ran two fingers down her forearm.

Sceptile charged quickly and quietly thought the smoke and attacked Charizard full on with a Leaf Blade. Charizard roared in pain and surged upward, trying to get away, blowing the smoke off the field.

Now fully able to see, Alain ordered, "Dragon Claw!"

"Leaf Blade!" Zara countered.

Charizard swooped down at Sceptile, it's claws glowing green, but Sceptile dodged smoothly. The two Pokemon kept trying to attack each other, twisting and whirling around each other, both constantly striking but both dodging or intercepting every strike. Suddenly, Charizard feinted, and as Sceptile fell for the feint, Charizard slammed it's claw down on Sceptile's head. Sceptile screamed in pain.

Zara winced and shouted, "Fall back, Sceptile!"

"Pin in down" Alain cried.

Sceptile staggered backward, but Charizard only charged forward once again, claws glowing an even brighter green, eyes burning with energy, ready to throw Sceptile to the ground.

"Detect!" Zara commanded.

Sceptile cracked open its eyes, and they began to glow blue. Quick as lighting, it leaped and twisted out of Charizard's way.

"Don't let them get away!" Alain shouted.

Sceptile continued to dodge Charizard's Dragon Claws, but Charizard worked hard to keep the Forest Pokemon directly in front of it.

 _No, Sceptile's Detect is going to run out before Charizard stops attacking!_ Zara thought frantically. And sure enough, the blue glow in Sceptile's eyes was begining to fade. "Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered quickly.

As Sceptile's Detect gave out all together, and Charizard drew back to give a final swipe of its Dragon Claw, Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse straight into Charizard's chest so quickly that the Flame Pokemon had no chance to react. It went spralling, roaring angrily.

"Dragon Pulse again!" Zara cried.

"Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.

The attacks met mid field and canceled out. Silence fell as the two trainers and their Pokemon stopped moving.

 _He is strong. Really strong. I'm lucky I'm Sceptile's still standing, but it dodged the attacks very well,_ Zara thought. _But what do I do now? We're practicaly at a stalemate. He can't hit me and I can't close for a good clear hit._

"Blast Burn!" Alain shouted.

"Detect!" Zara countered.

Again, Sceptile dodged the powerful Fire type move. It exploded, leaving several large crack in the ground. Zara thought she saw Alain glowering at the field, but whether it was in concentration or frustration she couldn't tell.

Zara looked down at the field too. And then she had an idea. "Dragon Pulse on the ground!" she commanded.

Sceptile launched a Dragon Pulse at the ground, but instead of it simply striking and exploding, the attack hit the cracks and began to move down them like water, branching out into many different arms. The rainbow colored attack flowed along quickly untill it was almost to Charizard's feet.

"Fly up, Charizard!" Alain shouted.

Charizard surged off the ground just as the attack reached its feet. The Dragon Pulse's many branches flew up after it, looking all the world like the head, arms, and legs of a Dragon type had been dismantled and were individually reaching for Charizard, but making the attack seem much bigger than it usually could be. The attack missed however, nipping at Charizard's heels but never touching it.

"Leaf Blade!" Zara cried

Sceptile leaped, faster than a Quick Attack, up behind the rising Charizard and slashed at it wings, sending the Flame Pokemon plumeting. This time, however, Charizard caught itself before it fell into the Dragon Pulse below, and turned to face Sceptile, fury burning it its eyes.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.

"Detect!" Zara countered.

Sceptile dodged the Dragon Claw cleanly, and danced back over to Zara. Charizard, gave up attacking after the first couple of swipes, clearly knowing it would be useless to try and hit the Grass and Dragon type.

Both Pokemon came to stop directly in front of their trainers, both covered in dust and scratches, both's shoulders heaving as they breathed.

Zara glanced up at Alain, waiting for his next move, but as she looked up at him, she could just see across the field that his fists were clenched. He drew them back from his body and leaned forward anxiously.

Zara knew something was coming. Something big.

"Take this Blast Burn!" Alain cried, passion resonating in his voice as it carried across the field.

Zara opened her mouth to order a Detect, when she realized something very importaint. Sceptile had already used Detect as its last move. Thus she had no idea if it would work now.

Charizard punched the ground with a firey claw.

 _Uh-oh. What do I do now!_ her mind screamed at her.

The fire filled cracks covered a third of the battle field.

 _Only one thing left you can do. Fight fire with fire._

"Sceptile," she cried, "use Frenzy Plant!"

Without any hesitation, Sceptile slammed its tail into the ground. Huge roots began to grow out from around the Forest Pokemon.

Charizard's Blast Burn met Sceptile's Frenzy Plant a little more than halfway across the field on Sceptile's side. The two attacks struggled against each other, both Pokemon pushing to overcome the other with everything they had. First Charizard looked as though it would win, then Sceptile pushed back against a weak point. Ten seconds crawled by, then twenty, then thirty.

Finally the attacks stopped their writhing against each other all together. They began to bulge outward toward the other, swelling, till they looked ready to burst.

And then they exploded.

Exploded, in Zara's opinion, wasn't a strong enough word to describe the blast that the Blast Burn and Frenzy Plant created. In a split second, the whole courtyard filled with dust, smoke, fire, and debris. Everything went everywhere. She covered her head in an attempt to shelter herself from the debris, and thus saw nothing but her shirt sleeve for several seconds. The explosion roared on for almost a full minute, before finally silence fell over the field. Zara raised her head tentitvely, careful to watch for any more flying debris. She didn't see any more as she uncovered her head. Instead, she saw a ruined battle field, a disorganized crowd...

...and Sceptile and Charizard both lying down on the field.

 _They can't be knocked out. Can they?_ Zara wondered to herself. _Not both of them. No-_

With two great flashes of light, Sceptile and Charizard both released their Mega Forms. Neither of them moved so much as a claw.

Zara could only stare at the field, dumbstruck. When she finally came to her senses, she looked up to find Alain with a very similar expression to the one she was sure she'd had on only moments before plastered on his face.

"Both Sceptile and Charizard are unable to battle. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie!" Steven shouted from the side of the field.

Suddenly, everyone burst out cheering, clapping, whooping, and hollering, and every other kind of celebratory noise imaginable. Mairin burst out of the crowd and ran up to Alain, cheering, and hugged him. Moments later Wally also came running out of the crowd and up to her. The young trainer looked ready to burst he was so happy. Zara just reached down and put an arm around his shoulders. In all honesty, she wasn't sure how to react to this turn of events. She hadn't lost, but she hadn't won either. Shound Should she be happy she managed to do this well or upset that she hadn't taken him out?

As she pondered these thoughts, Sceptile and Charizard began to stir. Zara raced onto the field, leaving Wally behind, and knelt next to her Pokemon. "You alright, Sceptile?" she asked.

Sceptile took a quick look around the field, then ducked it's head, mumbling something in an apologetic tone.

"No, don't apologize Sceptile. You did your best, and that's all I could ever ask for. And after all, we didn't lose. We'll call you and Charizard evenly matched, okay?"

Sceptile offered her that same expression that was akin to a smile, then looked down field. Zara followed it's gaze till she was looking at Alain talking to his Charizard and helping it up. Sceptile slowly rose to its feet beside Zara and took a step toward them.

"Whoa, hang on there pal, you need to rest," Zara protested, grabbing onto Sceptile's arm and pulling it back toward the ground.

Sceptile only turned to look at her with a very serious expression on its face. So serious, that Zara let go of her Pokemon and simply let it go. She watched it carefully as it crossed the field.

Sceptile walked slowly across the battle field, untill it came to a stop directly in front of Charizard. The Flame Pokemon looked up from its trainer at Sceptile. Suddenly the courtyard seemed to get quieter. Both Pokemon only stared at one another for several seconds. Then, Sceptile held out a claw to Charizard.

"Sceptile, scep."

Charizard looked from the claw to Sceptile's face and back again. "Char?"

"Tile."

Charizard took a lumbering step forward, and reaching its own claw out to Sceptile's, took it in a firm handshake.

Zara watched the two Pokemon in awe. _After all this time of being such stiff rivals, looks like those two finally called a truce._

As they pulled apart, Sceptile lowered it's head. "Sceptile tile sceptile!" it growled challengingly. Zara knew her Pokemon well enough to interpret that to mean, _Next time, the results will be different._

Charizard sort of smiled back and growled back.

Zara smiled, an ear to ear grin like she hadn't smiled in years, at that. Happy. That's what she was about the tie. Happy, because now at least Charizard and Sceptile had made peace between each other. As she thought this, her gaze drifted from the Pokemon to Alain, and her smile grew slightly stiff.

The news crew had already begun to clean up their equipment and the crowd was starting to pour into the field and congratulate both trainers. Zara recalled Sceptile to give it a rest, and listened as every student in the school filed past her to say congratulations. The next several minutes were more of a blur of faces and words to her. After a while, she slipped away to the Pokemon Center and handed Sceptile over to Nurse Joy. When she came back, Steven was coming out of the opposite door, holding a wooden box.

"Alain! Zara! Come over here, please!" the Champion called.

Zara pushed past Brittney and walked up to Steven.

"Well," Steven began slowly, "I'm afraid we have a bit of a dilemma. You see, this is the winner's metal," and he lifted a gold colored metal engraved with a Mega Evolution symbol on it from the box he held, "but we only expected one winner, so we only have one metal. I can order another one, but you two will have to decide who gets to keep this one."

Zara and Alain both looked at each other, then quickly looked away.

"She can keep it," Alain mumbled.

"No, you can have it," Zara returned.

"You're the girl. You should keep it," he mumbled again, keeping his eyes averted.

"But you're the one who doesn't work with the person who's going to order the metal. If I take this one, you'll have to wait untill the new one gets shipped to the Champion, and then till it gets shipped to you out in Kalos. Plus, the shipping for something going all the way to Kalos is really expensive," Zara finished, ducking her head a bit in embarrassment.

After a moment of silence, she looked up again, wondering what the matter was to find Alain staring at her. Her eyes met his, and she saw the same jumble of emotions inside them again. But this time, sorrow wasn't the foremost emotion. If she wasn't mistaken, it might have been admiration. But it was gone almost as soon as she'd seen it, and Alain turned back to Steven.

"Then, Alain, it is my great pleasure to award you with this medal to commemorate your victory at the Mega Evolution Seminar," Steven said as he lifted the blue ribbon the metal hung on over Alain's head and placed it around his neck. Alain held up the medal to look at it better, and Zara was sure he was smiling as he did so.

Steven began to address the entire crowd after that. He spoke for a while, thanking everyone for coming, congratulating them on how well they had all done in the seminar, and encouraging them to come back and study in the school once it opened completely. He kept Alain and Zara next to him, one on either side, the whole time.

When Steven finished, Phoebe opened the front doors to the courtyard, and several people began to pour through the open doorway. Zara didn't recognize any of them, but it didn't take her long to figure out they were parents and grandparents of the students.

Slowly, the courtyard emptied out, as students left with their families or went to collect luggage. Almost everyone said congratulations or goodbye as they left. Jacklyn passed by Zara as she headed out, and she purposely stepped on Zara's foot as she left. Zara chose to ignore her. After all, she'd probably never see Jacklyn again. And good riddance.

Finally, the courtyard was empty except for Zara, Alain, Steven, Wally, Mairin, Professor Sycamore, and the Elite Four.

"And that is the end of a very eventful Mega Evolution Seminar," Sydney said.

"You can say that again," Phoebe agreed.

"Shouldn't you be headed home as well?" Glacia asked, peering critically at Wally.

"M-my parents are coming t-t-to get me tomorrow morning," Wally replied. Glacia only sniffed.

Steven stepped closer to the Professor, and held out his hand. "Thank you for coming to the Seminar, Professor. I hope it was beneficial."

Professor Sycamore smiled warmly and shook Steven's hand. "It was, but not in the way I expected." His gaze drifted to Alain meaningfully.

Steven smiled back. "I know what you mean." Zara saw his eyes cut over to her, then dart back to the Professor.

"Well, I don't mean to run off, but we have a plane to catch in twenty minutes," Professor Sycamore said as he glanced at his watch. "I can send you a copy of what I've learned here, if you'd like."

"Yes, if you don't mind," Steven answered.

"Alain, you'll have to go get you bags," Professor Sycamore said.

"Right," Alain replied with a nod of his head. He immediately set out for his room.

"Bring them down to the car outside! We'll be waiting for you there!" the Professor called after him.

Zara watched Alain leave the courtyard, regret filling her mind. She wanted to shout after him, and tell him she was sorry for slapping him, and ask if he would ever forgive her. But she didn't.

 _Let him go. Let him go back to his own life in peace without stirring up bad thoughts. Perhaps this way he'll remember you for the battle you gave him and not for the slap._

Still, she felt she couldn't let him go without doing something.

Steven and the Professor began to walk slowly to and through the front doors. Zara was about to follow them when Mairin started talking to her.

"Zara, you were great today. I've never seen anyone battle Alain and tie before! You'd have to really good in order to do that!" She put on a cheerful smile, and turned to Wally. "And Steven told me you did really well too Wally! I'm glad I met both of you."

Zara smiled as well as she could through the jumble of emotions inside her. Reaching a hand down to Mairin, she reaplied., "I'm glad we met too, Mairin."

"Can we be pen pals?" Mairin asked hopefully. "At least, as long as I'm not traveling with Alain."

Zara was about to answer yes, when she spotted out of the corner of her eye, Wally's shoulders sagging. "I'd love to, Mairin, but I'm usually too busy to write very many letters. What if you were pen pals with Wally? He's got more time on his hands. That is, if it's alright with you," she addressed the last sentence to Wally.

Wally smiled so big, Zara thought his face might split in two. "Th-th-that'd b-be great-t!"

"Hooray!" Mairin cried. She reached out and gave Wally a big hug, making the green haired trainer go beet red. Zara chuckled slightly at his embarrassment.

Mairin released him after a moment and said happily, "I'll write as soon as I get home!"

"Che, chespin che!" Chespie exclaimed, pointing at the front doorway. Zara looked up to find it empty.

"Oops, I've got to go!" Bye!" Mairin exclaimed, turning and racing for the doorway.

Zara smiled as she watched the red headed trainer run out to the car and Professor Sycamore. She slipped her hands into her pockets absentmindedly, fingering the the things inside. A pang of sadness hit her as she reached automatically for her ring, but didn't find it. All that was in there was her dad's pitch-pipe...

 _Wait, if there is anything I could give him to tell him I'm sorry, wouldn't this be it?_

 _But you can't give that away! It's all you have left of them!_

 _It's just a pitch-pipe. Just a piece of the past. Just something you need to let go of._

 _And you can't let go of him._

"Mairin, wait!" Zara cried without thinking twice, something she hadn't done in years.

Mairin stopped and turned around. "What's the matter?"

Zara jogged up to her and knelt down. Drawing the pitch-pipe out of her pocket, she pushed it into Mairin's hand and said, "Can you give this to Alain for me?"

"Sure," Mairin answeted, closing her hand around the pitchpipe.

Zara heitated for a moment before adding, "And can you tell him something?"

Mairin nodded. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

Zara didn't offer an explination. She just rose and walked away, kept walking untill she was out of the courtyard and out of the school. Till she was alone.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX

Alain trudged down the school stairs, suitcase in hand. He plodded across the courtyard, and out to the car that Professor Sycamore had parked in front of the school. The Professor and Mairin were already buckled in and ready to go when he got outside.

"Come on, Alain, we can't miss the plane!" Mairin called.

Alain picked up his pace a bit, reaching the car as quickly as he could at a brisk walk. He dumped his suitcase in the back seat next to Mairin, then climbed into the passenger seat.

Steven stepped up to the driver's side and said a few words to the Professor, then addressed him. "I'm glad you came to the seminar, Alain. Perhaps you'd like to come back when the school opens?"

"I'll think about it," Alain replied.

Steven nodded, then stepped back from the car. Professor Sycamore started the engine, and with that, they pulled away from the school.

"Bye Alain! B-bye Mairin!" someone called behind them. Alain turned around to see Wally and his Gallade standing in the open doorway of the school, each waving one hand over their heads.

"Bye Wally!" Mairin called back, leaning out the window as far as she could and waving both hards over her head. She kept waving untill the school was out of sight.

As the car crested a hill, the school slipped out of their view, and the Maville City Airport came into view, Alain sighed and put his chin in his hand.

 _It's over. It's really over. She's gone, and you said nothing to her about an apology or your feelings. She's gone, and you'll never get her back._

 _Isn't that for the best? She should be happy now that she never has to see you again._

The car pulled into the airport's parking lot, and Professor Sycamore turned off the engine.

 _But she looked happy after we had our battle! Was that just because we had a good match?_

Alain opened his door automatically and climbed out, then reached over the back door to get his suitcase.

 _It must be. If she really cared, she would have come to say goodbye with Wally. And she didn't._

Professor Sycamore handed his car keys over to a person in a uniform marked with the logo of a Hoenn car rental company. Then he walked toward the line of people waiting to get on the plane. Alain saw him show a lady behind one of the many counters three tickets. She took them and pointed toward a long line of people waiting to board a plane. The Professor nodded and stepped toward the end of the line. Mairin followed him, and Alain followed her.

 _Forget about her. You have Mairin and Professor Sycamore back. That should be enough for you._

He shoved the torrent of thoughts out of his mind and focused on Mairin. She stood contentedly in front of him, playing with Chespie. He watched her for about ten minutes as they slowly moved through the line.

Suddenly, Mairin let out an, "Oh!", and whirled to face him. " I almost forgot. Zara told me to give this to you. But I don't know what it is." She slipped her hand into her pocket, then pulled it back out closed tightly in a fist. She held out her hand to Alain, palm down. He extended his hand untill it was underneath hers, and once it was Mairin dropped what she held into his waiting palm.

Alain knew what it was before it even hit his hand. Zara's pitch pipe. For a second he thought he'd imagined it, but then the cold, hard metal hit his hand. He could only stare at it for a moment, but slowly he began to come to terms with the reality of the object, and his fingers closed over it automatically. His surprise was so great that he dropped his suitcase, and it hit the floor with a loud clatter.

 _She gave me this? Why?_ Hundreds of reasons surfaced in his mind, but none of them made sense.

As if Mairin had sensed his question, she said, "Zara said to tell you she's sorry. But she didn't say what for. Did you two have a fight or something? "

But Alain wasn't listening. _She's sorry? For what? She didn't do anything wrong to me._

"Why'd she give you that thing Alain?" Mairin continued to prod.

 _She just gave away her father's pitch pipe, the only thing she has left to remember him by. To me. Why? What did I do to deserve this? And why is she sorry? If anyone should be sorry, it's me._

"Alain? Is everything alright?" Professor Sycamore asked, turning around to look at him.

 _She gave me her father's pitch pipe. Something sh_ _e treasures. But she wouldn't give that away to someone she hated. So that means...she doesn't hate me. And she isn't happy._

 _But still, why give it to you? Why be sorry?_

His hand closed tightly around the pitch pipe. _Only one way to find out._

Without a word to the Professor or Mairin, Alain tore away, past the people in line behind them, through the airport, and toward the door they'd come in.

"Alain!" Professor Sycamore called after him, but he ignored it. He ignored everything, the people around him, the thought of his suitcase he'd dropped, the thought of the plane bound to Kalos, due to leave any minute, and everything else. All that mattered now was getting back to Zara.

He dashed out the airport doorway and into the parking lot. Grabbing Charizard's pokeball from his pocket, he threw it into the air and the Fire and Flying type materialised before him.

Charizard turned it's head to give him a strange look. "Char?" it asked.

"No time," Alain replied hastily. Climbing onto his Pokemon's back, he said, "Back to the school Charizard."

Charizard growled meaningfully, as if it guessed why they were going back, but took off to the north, beating it's wings hard and fast.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara leaned back further as another wooden box flew through the air toward her. It crashed into her arms, and she took a step back to balance herself.

Turning to face Sceptile, who stood a couple of yards further away, she hefted the box toward it. The Grass type caught the box in its mouth and set in the back of a delivery truck, where Wally took it and pushed it to the back of the truck.

She and Wally, and both of their Pokemon, were behind the school, loading objects and such into various trucks that weren't needed here anymore. But instead of the normal way of loading a truck, Zara had started an bucket brigade of sorts. Whatever needed to be loaded was tossed from person to Pokemon to Pokemon untill it reached the truck.

Zara turned back toward the school as a blue cloth sack flew toward her. She caught it and sent it on. "Careful with this stuff, Medicham," she scolded. "We don't want to break anything."

Medicham only nodded before catching another box and sending it to her.

Zara caught the box, surprised at its weight, but didn't throw it. _Alain helped me lift a heavy box to get it into the school. And I nearly ran right into him after that._ She closed her eyes, trying to relive the memory.

 _But he's gone now. Gone back to Kalos, where he's with his friends. Where he's happy._

"Medicham!"

Zara started at looked up just in time to have another box fly into her shoulder. "Ow!" she exclaimed, and dropped the box she held.

"Medi, medicham cham!" Medicham cried as it ran up to her. Her Larion followed it as fast as it could, as did Wally's Gallade and Azumarill.

"Scep!" Sceptile cried at the same time. Inside the truck, Wally turned around and spotted her. He and Sceptile both raced to her side.

"Are you hurt?" Wally asked as he reached her.

Zara looked down at the two boxes that she'd dropped. The one she'd been holding was fine, but the other one had a couple of boards that had splintered. "Great," she muttered, then scooped up the broken box.

"Are you okay, Zara?" Wally repeated, his voice gaining even more concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine Wally, just got lost in thought."

"About you're battle?"

"That, and a bunch of other things."

Wally put a hand on her arm. "Don't feel bad that you didn't win, Zara. You were great."

Zara offered him a weak smile. "Thanks, Wally," she whispered, not trusting her voice.

"Sceptile." Sceptile nudged her, then took the splintered box out of her arms. It looked her in the eye, and in that moment, Zara realized her Pokemon knew exactly what she'd been thinking about.

"Okay everybody, back to work," Zara said, shaking her head to clear it. As Medicham tossed her the next sack, she thought, _He's gone, and there's nothing you can do to change that now._

 _But I want him back so badly._

Suddenly, Zara was sure she could hear wingbeats faintly above her. But she quickly shook it off as her imagination, caught the sack, and sent it on.

 _So badly, I'm imagining his Charizard is actually flying back here as we work._

But the sound of the wing beats only got louder and more defined, untill Zara knew she wasn't imagining it.

 _It can't be his Charizard. It must be Steven's Skarmory or Drake's Salamence._

"Sceptile!" Sceptile cried suddenly. Zara turned to find the Forest Pokemon staring at something above the school, a happy expression on its face. Zara simply smiled back at it, caught another box, and sent it on. As she threw the box to Sceptile, Wally came up beside it, and followed its gaze. "Hey, isn't that Charizard?" he asked.

Zara whirled around so fast she nearly lost her balance. "Where?"

"It just flew into the courtyard," Wally said.

Zara didn't waste anymore time. Ignoring the sack Medicham threw to her, she dashed through the school's back door, through the hallway, and into the courtyard.

And there, in the middle of the courtyard, stood Charizard, Alain sliding off its back.

He climbed off his Pokemon, then looked around slowly. In those seconds of him not seeing her, Zara suddenly wanted to bolt. _He had to have some very importaint reason for coming back here. And I might not like what it is._

But then he saw her. His eyes met hers, and he crossed the field till he stood at directly in front of her. For a moment, neither person spoke. Zara could only stare at him, millions of questions whirling in her mind. Finally, she managed, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Alain asked.

"I mean, why did you come back? Did you forget something? Or was there something you..." _wanted to tell me?_ she finished mentally, not able to voice the thought.

In reply, Alain held out his hand, palm up. In it rested her pitch pipe. "Why did you give this to me?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

Zara took a deep breath. "Because...because I...because I needed to let go of it," she stummbled.

Alain gave her a puzzled look. "Why give it to me?"

Zara dropped her gaze to the ground. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather give it to."

After a moment of silence, she peeked back up at him. He was looking at the ground, confusion and possibly denial in his expression. _What is he thinking?_

He looked back up at her. "Zara..."

"Yes, Alain?" she answered quietly.

The confusion in his expression intensified, and his face contorted slightly in thought. He opened his mouth to say something.

And just then, Wally, followed by both his and Zara's Pokemon, raced into the courtyard. "Zara!" he shouted.

Alain's eyes clouded, and he turned away from her. "This belongs to you," he said quietly, holding the pitch pipe out to her.

 _Oh no, Wally! Couldn't it wait!_ Zara's mind screamed, but she managed to keep the irritation off her face. She took the pitch pipe, and turned to her young friend. "That's my name, don't wear it out," she teased as Wally ran up to her.

"Wow, so it was Alain's Charizard," Wally said as he approached Zara.

"Sceptile?" Sceptile stepped up to her and gave her a critial look.

"What?" she asked.

"You just ran off, like the school had caught on fire or something," Wally clarified. "What was that all about?"

Zara hesitated. "It's complicated Wally."

"Too many things are c-complicated with you anymore," Wally said dejectedly.

Suddenly, above them, a loud "Gar!" rang thought the quiet, and a Garchomp landed in the courtyard next to Charizard. Professor Sycamore and Mairin climbed off its back and the Professor returned it to its pokeball.

"Alain, why did you run off like that?" Mairin asked almost accusingly as she ran up to him.

"I'd like to know the same thing," Professor Sycamore said firmly, but not unkindly.

Just then, Steven came out the side door into the courtyard. "What is going on out here? I thought you had a plane to catch," he said to the Professor, "and I thought you were loading boxes," he said to Zara.

Zara just looked at him with as inoccent a look as she could muster, but the Professor replied, "We did, but Alain left us and came back here. And surely by now the plane has left," he added, looking at his watch. With his other hand, he handed Alain his black suitcase.

Alain obtained an apologetic look.

"There won't be another plane back to Kalos till tomorrow," the Professor continued, "so I suppose that means we need a place to stay the night. Are there any good hotels it Maville?"

"You don't need a hotel," Steven said firmly. "You can stay here for the night."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Professor Sycamore said.

"Not at all," Steven affirmed.

"Alright. Then we will."

"Yay!" Mairin said, jumping up and down.

"Yes!" Zara heard Wally say behind her. Somehow, it didn't make her smile.

"Zara, don't you have work to get back to?" Steven hinted.

"I'm going," Zara said as cheerfully as she could. Giving Alain one last look, she turned and walked back through the back door. Wally and Mairin both followed her, Mairin chattering all the way, describing every last detail of what had happened at the airport.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Sceptile watched as its trainer walked slowly out the back door, followed by Gallade's trainer and that Chespin's trainer, and all of their Pokemon.

"I'll show you to your room," Metagross's trainer said. He turned and walked out the side exit to the open area. The tall trainer with the Garchomp followed him, as did Charizard's trainer.

Sceptile sighed a small, tired sigh as it watched everyone go.

Charizard's trainer turned back before he disappeared around the corner. "Charizard return," he said, and held up a pokeball.

Charizard, however, flew away from the beam of red light and landed a few feet away with a growl of annoyance. Its trainer only gave it a frustrated look and shrugged his shoulders before leaving the two Pokemon alone.

"Sceptile, sceptile tile?" _What was that all about?_ Sceptile asked.

"Zard." _Nothing._ Charizard growled in return. Silence fell for several moments.

"Scep, sceptile tile tile scep, sceptile scep tile scep, scep..." _Look, I know we don't like each other, we're rivals and all, but..._ Sceptile trailed off.

"Char?" _What?_ Charizard asked.

"Tile sceptile sceptile, scep tile tile, scep tile tile sceptile." _I know my trainer cares about your trainer, that she misses him, but doesn't want to tell him._

"Char? Char charizard." _Really? Mine acts the same way._

"Sceptile scep, tile tile tile sceptile, sceptile tile scep scep tile scep. Sceptile tile scep scep tile." _Don't get me wrong, I don't want to work with you, but I do want my trainer to be happy. And if that means getting her to talk to your trainer, then that's what I'll do._

"Charizard." _I understand._

"Sceptile sceptile?" _So you'll help me get them to make peace?_

"Char. Char zard char, charizard char char." _Yes. But if you tell anyone, I'll burn you to a crisp._

Sceptile smiled. "Scep." _Deal._

"Charizard char?" _So what's your plan?_

Sceptile stepped closer to Charizard and leaned in as close as it dared. "Sceptile tile scep..." _Here what you need to do..._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain stood in the room he was sharing with Mairin for the night, unpacking what he needed from the suitcase Professor Sycamore had given back to him. The digital clock on the bedside table read eight twenty. The sun had long past set. Alain gathered his pajamas out of his suitcase and took a step toward the shower.

Suddenly, Charizard burst out of its pokeball in a flash of white light. Spreading its wings as much as it could, it looked at Alain's arms, then at the window. Giving itself a shake, it turned to Alain and nudged him toward the window.

"What is it?" Alain asked his Pokemon. He put down his pajamas and walked to the window. There was nothing outside but trees and stars.

"What?" he repeated, turning back to Charizard. Charizard wore a longing expression. The Flame Pokemon spred its wings again and tried to flap them, growling when one struck Alain's bed.

Alain thought for a moment before guessing, "You want to go out?"

Charizard nodded, then jabbed a claw at him.

"Me too?" Alain guessed.

Charizard nodded again.

Alain hesitated, then relenting, picked up Charizard's pokeball and recalled the Fire and Flying type. He left the room and walked out onto the fire escape, then released Charizard. Charizard flew in a loop, rising high above the roof, then came to a stop in front of him.

Then, from above them, Alain heard a, "Scep!"

 _Oh great. Zara's up here too._ He moved to go back inside before she saw him, but as he reached for the door handle, Charizard growled at him. "What?" he asked.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile's head appeared over the edge of the roof. The Grass type wore a happy expression as it dipped its head respectfully to Charizard. Charizard dipped its head back.

Zara appeared right behind it. When she looked over the edge of the roof, she quickly spotted Alain and disappeared again. Alain sighed to himself and sank back against the door. _Why did I come out here?_

 _You almost told her everything earlier. You wanted to tell her everything._

 _Yes, I did. But that doesn't mean I should. She's safe and content here, without me, and I need to accept that. Clearly she doesn't want to be around me since she won't even look at me._

 _But she gave you her pitch pipe. And she said there wasn't anyone else she'd rather give it to. Why would she say that if she hates you?_

 _Ugh, it makes no sense!_

 _Never mind it. She deserves better than me, with everything I've done to hurt her. I should just-_

"Alain?" Zara's voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you coming up?"

- _leave her alone..._ Alain finished his thought, but suddenly he changed his mind.

"You don't have to, just asking," Zara added quickly when he didn't respond.

Alain grabbed onto the edge of the roof and, stepping onto the fire escape railing, pulled himself onto the roof. Zara was already a ways down the roof, her back turned to him.

"You wanted something?" he asked cautiously.

"No," Zara replied without turning around, "just wondered what you were doing."

Alain looked away from her sadly. Silence fell.

Charizard landed on the roof next to him, stirring up a breeze with its wings. Sceptile stepped closer to Zara and nuzzled her shoulder.

Alain put his arm around Charizard and let out another sigh to himself. "Had enough time outside?" he asked his Pokemon.

Charizard responded by shoving him down the roof with its snout.

"Hey!" Alain cried, tipping from Charizard's shove, and nearly losing his balance. "What's with you?"

"Char," Charizard growled at him.

"Hey! Cut it out, Sceptile!" he heard Zara say, and looked down the roof to see Sceptile shoving her down the roof toward him with its snout. Zara, however, was doing a better job of avoiding the shoves.

Charizard shoved him in the back again. "Stop it, Charizard!" Alain ordered.

Charizard looked up and gave a negative growl. Sceptile looked up at it, and gave a quick dip of its head. Quick as a flash, the Forest Pokemon grabbed the back of Zara's shirts in its mouth and lifted her up to where her feet wouldn't touch the roof top.

"What are you do-" Alain began, but he stopped abruptly when Charizard grabbed the back of his jacket and lifted him up in its mouth. Alain hung there, feeling like a string of Christmas lights. "Put me down, Charizard!" he commanded. Charizard only snorted, sending a blast of hot air down Alain's neck.

"Sceptile, let me go! Let me go!" Zara demanded across the roof, flailing as hard as she could. Sceptile took several steps to regain its balance, but didn't put her down.

Instead, it took a step closer to Charizard.

Then Charizard took a step closer to Sceptile. Then another.

Alain tried desperately to twist his way out of Charizard grip, but the Flame Pokemon held on tightly. Zara continued to flail across from him. "Sceptile, if you don't let me go, I promise, no more pokeblocks for a month."

Sceptile didn't show any signs of letting go.

Both Pokemon kept advancing untill they stood a little less than a yard apart. Meaning Alain and Zara hung mere inches from each other.

Both trainers froze when the reality of how close they were hit them. Alain sucked in his breath and tried to pull himself back toward Charizard, but with no foot holds, he couldn't really move anywhere.

"Sceptile," Sceptile said around Zara's shirts.

"Charizard," Charizard growled around Alain's jacket.

Alain let his gaze fall on Zara. She was looking back at him, but her eyes kept darting around like she was scared to death. _Scared of me probably._

"Sceptile, I mean it about the no pokeblocks for a month," Zara said, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes stopped darting around and stayed fixed on Alain's. For a moment, everything went quiet as they stared at each other. Alain saw all the same emotions from this morning flash inside them. But this time, the hope and longing he'd seen were far more clearly defined. Suddenly, her eyes clouded, and she started to cry.

 _Oh no, what did I do?_ Alain though, alarmed.

"I'm sorry, Alain," Zara choked out.

 _Sorry? For what?_ He stared at her in confusion and shook his head slowly.

"Sorry I called you a liar, sorry I turned against you, sorry I slapped you, sorry I said all those hurtful things, sorry for everything." Now she was sobbing. "Professor Sycamore told me everything. All about how you met Lysander and he tricked you, and that everything you did was to protect him and Mairin. That you've been training to save them." She choked out another sob before adding, "I thought I had your reason for getting stronger all figured out. But I was wrong, and I acted without knowing the whole truth." Tears continued to flow down her face, and her expression turned to one of misery. "I'm a terrible friend. I shouldn't have said anything. You have a home back in Kalos to go back to, without me or anything I've said to deal with. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sorry saying what I said, and I hope you have a good life back in Kalos, and I- I- Sceptile just put me down already!" she burst out, struggling against her Pokemon's grip again, fresh tears pouring down her face. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to reach up behind her neck at Sceptile's mouth.

Alain could only state at her. He couldn't believe his ears. _That's what she was sorry about? That's why she's been giving me things? That's why she waqs staying away from me? Because she felt guilty?_

He stared at her for several second, as she struggled against her Pokemon. Suddenly, a sense of longing and caring flowed over him, and lifting one hand, he touched her check very lightly, wiping away some of her tears with his thumb.

At his touch, Zara froze and her eyes flew open and met his. She looked scared to death as she looked back at him, but after a moment, the fear in her eyes subsided and she relaxed. "Alain, I..."

Alain didn't answer, simply kept rubbing his thumb across her cheek. But as he did so, his thoughts began to nag at him.

 _She stayed away from you because she felt guilty. But she didn't need to. If anyone should feel guilty, it's you. Your the one who hurt her so much. Even if you want her, she deserves better than you._

His expression hardened, and he turned his head away from Zara, dropping his hand to his side.

"What's wrong? What did I say?" Zara asked.

"Nothing," Alain replied bluntly.

"Something. It has to be something," Zara pressed. "Whatever it was, I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong!" Alain shouted suddenly, making Zara flinch. "You were right to doubt me in the first place! I did end up hurting you and getting you kindnapped, and I did tell them who you were, and I did gather Mega Evolution energy for them! All of this, you getting hurt, and Chesipe getting knocked out, everything, is my fault." He clenched his fists tighter in anger. "You shouldn't want anything to do with me. I'm a threat."

"But you did all those things for the right reasons," Zara said.

"That doesn't change the fact that I did them," Alain countered bitterly.

"No, but no one can blame you for them if you didn't know what you were doing," Zara said slowly.

"Yes they can!" Alain shouted. "I blame myself for them!" He clenched his fists tighter, and tried to turn away from her completely, but couldn't quite. Finally, he whispered, "You deserve better then me, Zara." As he said it he closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold back the water works.

Suddenly, he felt something brush his hand, and looked down to see Zara taking it in hers. He looked back at her to find her eyes shining.

"I don't want better than you, Alain," she whispered.

Alain stared at her, his heart starting to beat double time. "Are you sure?" he whispered back, unwilling to believe his ears.

Zara nodded and held his hand tighter.

For a moment, Alain was speechless, but when his senses came back to him, he asked in a barely audible whisper, "Then what do you want?"

Zara's hand started to tremble in his, and a suddenly Alain was afraid he'd said something to upset her. He opened his mouth to apologize, when Zara said pnly just loud enough for him to hear, "I- I want- I want you, Alain. I- I love you."

Alain's heart skipped a beat, and he stared at her, dumbstruck.

When he didn't respond for several seconds, Zara fumbled around, saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I'll just-"

Alain cut her off by putting his hand back on her cheek. "I love you too," he whispered.

Zara's hand trembled even more in his, but now he took it and held it firmly in his own hand to keep it from shaking.

"Char?" Charizard rumbled quietly.

"Scep," Sceptile said around Zara's shirts. It took half a step forward, putting Alain and Zara less then an inch from each other. They wer so close, Alain could feel Zara's breath ghosting across his face.

Slowly, Zara's gaze moved from Alain's eyes to his lips. Alain's heart sped up even more, but he slowly leaned forward toward her, stopping before he completely closed the distance between them. He gave her a look that he hoped said, _Are you sure?_

Zara smiled ever so slightly, her eyes shining happily, and leaned in closer to him. Alain leaned in more, tilting his head to one side and closing his eyes as he got closer.

And then he felt her lips brush his. He pushed against them firmly, kissing her with everything he had, passion and love urging him on. She hesitated for a second before kissing back, more slowly, but just as passionately. Slowly her let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. After a moment, he felt her arms wrap around his neck.

Suddenly, everything around him seemed not to matter anymore. All of his past, and everything it contained didn't matter, not here, not now. Not in this moment. All that mattered was her, that she was here with him, happy and safe.

 _Perfect._ _This is perfect._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Zara wrapped her arms around Alain neck as she kissed him. This whole time, ever since he'd said, "I love you too," her mind had been screaming, _He actually likes you!_ in what could easily be the most corny senence ever thought on the planet. But somehow, she didn't care.

After a while, they broke apart for air. But as Zara drew back, Alain gently pushed against her lower back, urging her back toward him. She looked back at his face and smiled a small smile. He smiled back, just barely, and she leaned against him, leaning her head against his, her face nuzzled into his blue scarf. He leaned his head against hers, resting his cheek in her mess of blonde hair.

Nothing mattered except here and now. Nothing mattered except her and him. All the fear Zara had about the future, all the what-ifs that constantly loomed over her head seemed to melt away. All that mattered was him, here, now, with her, happy.

She barely registered when Sceptile set her down on the roof. She head the Grass type saying something, probably to Charizard, and then heard the sound of flesh slapping flesh, what happens when two people give each other a hard handshake, but ignored it.

Alain lifted his head off of hers, and Zara raised her head to look up at him. When she looked at him, his eyes were shining in the starlight. "I love you, Zara," he whispered.

"You already said that," she teased, smiling as she said it.

"I can't say it enough," he answered. Then he leaned in and planted his lips on hers, and wrapped his arms even tighter around her.

 _Perfect,_ Zara thought. _This is perfect._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **And now Alain and Zara have made peace and told each other everything. Personally, I think this chapter came out really well, though long, but not as long as the last one. What did you guys think?**

 **All I have left for this story is the epiloge, so it's almost done. (Yay, my first completed fanfic!) I would really like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story. The support is greatly appreciated. :)**

 **Also, if you'd like to see more stories about Zara and Alain, I've got a poll up on my profile page for that. (And FYI, guests can vote on polls too! Just click on my name, RebelMandM, at the top of the page!). I'm thinking if I get twenty yes's, then I'll post another story.**

 **And, as always, (you all know what's coming)...**

 **Please review!**


	18. Epilogue

"So we'll see you in a few days?" Marion asked hopefully.

Alain looked down at her with a tired expression. He, Mairin, and Professor Sycamore stood in the Mawville City Airport, on the runway, in front of their plane that was set to take off back to Kalos any minute. Steven, Wally, and Zara had come with them to see them off.

"That's right, Mairin," Steven answered, his expression grim.

Alain's frown deepened. Steven had just finished explaining as they came here how he planned to come to the Kalos region and help the Professor capture them and put a stop to whatever they were planning, just as soon as he could close down the school and make arrangements for the Elite Four to cover for him here in Hoenn.

"I wish I was coming," Wally said dejectedly.

Zara's expression hardened and she glanced at Alain with a look that said, _He_ _should be thankful he's not._ The blonde trainer had insisted on coming with Steven, but Alain had noticed she'd looked very uneasy after the Hoenn Champion had given in. He guessed she truly didn't want to come, but felt obligated to help stop Lysander. To be honest, he wanted her to come so he could see her again sooner, but he wanted her to stay here more so she would be safe.

Zara reached down and wrapped an arm around Wally's shoulders. "Don't feel bad, Wally. You can come with us on the next adventure we have." She put on a cheerful smile, but somehow, Alain could tell she was faking it.

"Attention all passengers. Flight three eighty-seven bound for Lumiose City is now boarding. Please make your way to the plane and find your seats," the flight attendant's voice called over the loudspeakers.

"Guess that means us," Professor Sycamore said. He turned toward the plane, raising his hand in farewell as he did.

"Bye Zara! Bye Wally!" Mairin exclaimed. "I'll write to you and tell you what's happening in Kalos!" she promised the green haired trainer. "Come on Alain," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the plane ramp.

Alain raised a hand to the three people to say goodbye then allowed Mairin to pull him toward the plane.

They caught up with Professor Sycamore, and Mairin let go of his hand. She reached the boarding ramp first and bounded up it, taking the steps two at a time. The Professor followed her, and Alain followed him.

About halfway up the staircase, Mairin called back, "So Alain, what were you doing last night? You were out awfully late. I was worried you gotten lost or something, but Professor Sycamore said you were fine, just doing something other than sleeping. So what was it?"

"Actually," Professor Sycamore interjected, "I'd like to know the same thing."

Alain didn't answer for a moment. He stopped climbing the stairs, lost in thought of the kisses he'd shared with Zara last night. He turned around to look at her. Their eyes met, and his heart skipped a beat involuntarily. Suddenly, unable to restrain himself, he tore back down the stairs back toward her and Steven and Wally.

"Alain, where are you going?" Mairin cried.

"Alain, we can't miss this plane!" Professor Sycamore called after him.

Alain turned a deaf ear and kept going.

Zara, Wally, and Steven all fixed him with strange looks as he made his way back over to them. "Did you forget something, Alain?" Steven asked.

"What's w-wrong?" Wally questioned.

Zara didn't ask anything, and as he got closer, her confused expression melted into a knowing one and she dropped her gaze.

Alain stopped directly in front of her, his eyes still fixed on her. Slowly, he extended his hand till he touched her chin, lifting gently with his fingers to make her look at him. As he lifted her face, he saw the beginning of a blush creeping across her cheeks. His eyes locked with hers, and he gave her a small smile. She smiled back slowly, a genuine smile like he'd seen on her so few times.

Alain leaned in quickly and captured her lips with his. Zara stiffened in surprise for a moment before leaning into him and putting her hands on his shoulders, kissing back as hard as she could.

"Gross!" Alain heard Mairin shout from back on the stairs.

Beside them, Wally started making gagging sounds.

Reluctantly, Alain pulled back, his lips practically peeling off of hers he'd kissed her so hard. He took a couple of breaths, then said quietly, "See you soon." As he drew back, his medal from the seminar slipped out from beneath his jacket.

Zara eyed it for a moment before asking, "Can I try something?"

Alain gave her a confused look before sliding the ribbon over his head and handing it to her.

Zara took it and drew a pokeball out of her pocket. She tossed it and Sceptile burst out. The Grass type eyed her, then Alain and sort of smiled.

"Hey Sceptile," Zara said, lifting the the medal so her Pokemon could see it. With a flick of her wrist, she flung it skyward. "Leaf Blade!"

Sceptole jumped after the medal, the leaves on its arms glowing a vivid green. With one smooth slice, it cut the medal in two right down the middle.

The two halves fell back to earth, one landing in Alain's open palm, the other landing in Zara's. Alain looked down at it, then back up at her and nodded his head, closing his fingers around his half.

"Guess you won't have to order another metal after all, Steven," Zara commented, looking up at the Champion. Alain looked at him as well, to find him smiling a pleasantly surprised smile.

"Come on, Alain!" Mairin cried from the plane's open doorway.

Alain looked back to Zara. "Bye," he said softly.

"See you," she replied.

With that, he turned and raced back to and up the boarding ramp and into the plane. He sat down in the aisle seat next to Mairin, who was waving to Wally out the window.

Behind him, Professor Sycamore leaned forward and asked, "So, you like Zara, eh?"

Alain only smiled and leaned back into his chair as the plane began to move.

XXXXXXXXXXX

 **Thus, without further ado, this is your favorite piece of Confederate chocolate signing off for the first time. Untill next time,**

 **RebelMandM**


End file.
